What can you tell for sure whether workwear is of good quality?
Workwear of high-quality provides the wearer top performance, comfort and durability. Simply put, it appears more sophisticated, is easier to wear it lasts longer. This is due to the quality of the fabrics that are made from durable materials, as well as strict quality control measures implemented to prevent sub-par products from ever reaching the final customer.
Poor quality or good quality?
A brand new polo shirt sweatshirt, pants or jacket made of fleece freshly out of its packaging, always looks neat and stylish. It may not be obvious at first whether this piece of workwear is of good or of poor quality.
Most of the time, it’s not until your employees begin wearing clothes for a long duration of time and have gone through several wash cycles when you begin to realize that things aren’t quite as good as you’d hoped. When that happens, it’s way too late to take action to address it.
Fabrics of lower quality don’t retain their color like higher-quality ones. They are more likely to fade over time as washes are repeated. This is due to the fact that they can’t be dyed with such high temperatures, so the colour isn’t as deeply embedded into the material as it is on better quality fabrics.
Stitching could break up in time due to wear and tear and other features such as zips and toggle fastenings could be damaged or stuck.
When looking for workwear suppliers Edinburgh make sure you contact JRS Industrial…
How long can workwear last?
This is a fascinating question we are often. First thing to decide is the meaning of the length of time that workwear lasts. What we mean is, how long will it last in its shape and colour? While you can wear your work pants once they’ve lost colour. Once they look wornout, but they appear to be a bad representation of your company and must be replaced. This being said there’s no standard time frame for how long a piece of workwear can last due to the specific requirements of the individual role and workplaces. As a general rule we can inform you that the average length is longer than what most people imagine!
It is normal for good quality workwear to maintain its shape and colour and give a professional brand image for a period of 12-18 months or longer. All of our workwear comes with an 18-month warranty, and we assist businesses in making the necessary adjustments to ensure that a pair of safety gloves will last in appearance and function for at least one month.
If your workwear doesn’t last for as long as it should, or wish it would then it’s probably time to search for an alternative supplier of workwear. With so many companies offering top-quality clothing, how can you differentiate the legitimate ones from fakes? It is important to know some things to look to look…
Spotting sub-standard workwear: top tips
Stitching: Check seams. Good quality garments are triple stitched to ensure the strength. Any garment that has single, and frequently double crossed lines of stitching ought to be avoided since it suggests poor manufacturing processes.
Bar tacks: Look for bar tacks placed on areas of stress in clothing, particularly pants. They help strengthen and extend the life of the item.
Fabric weight Ask your vendor about the weight of the fabric that each garment is made of and determined as grams/square millimetre (GSM). For reference an average work polo is 220 GSM. Anything lighter than this could not be durable enough to meet the demands of most workplace conditions, so think about garments made of wicking fabric instead if it’s more likely to become too hot.
Zips – Select products with zips that are marked “YKK” on them. YKK are the gold standard for zips, and all their products are warranted for the life of the item.
Reinforcement seams – Look under the pockets on trousers as well as in the backs of poloshirts, sweatshirts, and fleeces. There should be additional stitching in these places to provide strength to the garment during wear and to help keep its shape as it wears. Seams are crucial to keep shape, however they also increase the cost of clothing.
Fleece jacket Fleece fabric begins as thick, and then is cut into the length you want, based on your requirements. Shaves that are shorter cost more to purchase, however they will be more attractive for longer since there’s less depth in the fabric, and consequently less chance of it getting caught in or getting caught within the fibers. Logos with embroidery will appear more attractive when paired with a shorter shave. Do not be afraid to inquire with suppliers about the degree of shave they use on the fabric of the clothes they supply. A reputable supplier will answer your questions regarding the products they have to offer.
There are many other things you should be looking for to ensure that you are wearing good top-quality workwear. If you’d like to learn more about the process and comprehend it better, connect with me or my team. I’m always available to talk!