Workwear: everything you need to know

Workwear is much more than just the outfit you wear during your working day. It has a clear function and in many cases there are specific guidelines and safety requirements associated with it. In this article you will discover everything you need to know about work clothing: from its usefulness and necessity to the rules involved. After reading you will be well informed and know exactly what to pay attention to regarding the topics below.

• The difference with normal clothing;
• Why it is important;
• What guidelines and requirements are associated with it;
• Clothing for various professional groups;
• Especially for men and women;
• Sustainability;
• And implementing your corporate identity in the clothing.

How is work clothing different from normal clothing?

The name 'work clothing' actually says it all: clothing that you wear while working. Now you can also wear normal clothes, so what makes work clothes so special?

Quality of Workwear
Work clothing is designed to last a long time and often consists of high-quality raw materials such as cotton and polyester. Some workwear is even reinforced with extra durable materials, such as Cordura®, for extra durability and resistance to wear and tear.

Safety of Workwear
The most important function of work clothing is safety. Work clothing protects you against various risks, such as weather conditions, low visibility, and hazards in the working environment. Whether you work outdoors or in hazardous environments, the right work clothing provides the protection you need to work safely.

Comfort of Workwear
In addition to safety, work clothing must also be comfortable. Work trousers and work jackets are designed to fit and move optimally, so you can work comfortably in different positions, such as sitting, standing or even climbing. They also offer handy storage options, so you always have the right tools at hand.

Fit and Sizes of Workwear
Work clothing is available in a wider size range than regular fashion, from XS to 8XL. With brands such as Tricorp you will find an extensive choice, so that everyone can find the perfect fit, regardless of body type or work requirements.

Workwear design
Although workwear increasingly contains fashion elements, most designs are specifically aimed at functionality during work. Think of work overalls, work trousers with multiple pockets, a hammer loop, and a ruler pocket. For extra visibility, there are also high visibility clothing in fluorescent yellow or orange colours, ideal for working in low visibility conditions.

Why is work clothing important?

With work clothing you connect teams through the uniform appearance that you create together. This gives a boost to your team's performances and makes working even more fun! In addition, as an employer you ensure that employees within your company can wear modern and sustainable work clothing while working. In other words: satisfied employees.

€€€ - It is also interesting for you as an employer because work clothing is tax deductible! Read here more about the conditions.

Moreover, it is important because the clothing often has a protective function. You can read below how this works.

What guidelines and requirements are there for work clothing?

Safety is the most important aspect. This is the reason for many professional groups to wear standardized work clothing. There are basically two reasons for this:

1. Protection against weather influences;
2. Protection against risks from the working environment.

Weather protection

If you work outside a lot, it is important to wear sun protection clothing. Unlike regular work clothing, this clothing is UV-resistant. Sun protection clothing, like sunscreen, is available in different factors. Read here more.

Even if you work a lot in the rain/wind or during the winter, you want to be sure that your clothing can withstand a rain shower and that you remain well heated. There are separate standards for what Tricorp clothing complies with. Read here more.

Protection against risks from the working environment

Visibility is an important requirement in many professional groups. Tricorp offers with the Tricorp label Safety a wide range of high visibility clothing. This includes professions such as road workers, traffic controllers, transport workers and railway workers. Read in this article everything about the European standard for high visibility clothing, EN ISO 20471.

With Tricorp Safety we also offer a wide range of multi-standard work clothing. This is clothing with multiple safety standards. Consider:

• Protection against arc flash;
• Protection against heat and flame;
• Protection against liquid chemicals;
• Protection for welding and related work;
• Protection against explosion hazard (antistatic clothing).

Work clothing for various professional groups

Did you know that work clothing is worn in almost all professional groups? Clothing for the construction, transport, industry and catering. But also bank employees, healthcare workers and representatives, for example! At Tricorp you will find suitable outfits for all professional groups. Work clothes for men and women!

Work clothing is often aimed at men and therefore has the fit and appearance that suits men. In recent years, women's work clothing has increased considerably. Tricorp also has a lot of clothing available for women. Read here which makes women's workwear even more special.

Sustainable work clothing

We have a wide range sustainable clothing. This is clothing made from recycled and organic raw materials.

The objective of our sustainable work clothing:

• Reduce: reducing water use, energy and C02 emissions. And reducing the use of new raw materials;
• Reuse: making the item suitable for reuse after wearing;
• Rewear: reusing materials in our work clothing. For example, recycling a PET bottle into PET polyester.

One of our sustainable collections is RE2050. The name RE2050 is a nod to the year 2050 in which the Netherlands as an economy must be circular.

Impact sheet

Textile trade organization Modint has developed a tool to calculate the ecological footprint of an article. Variables such as raw material and transport are included in the calculation. A garment made from recycled material has a lower ecological footprint than clothing made from new materials.

Find out what your impact on the environment is with the Tricorp Impact Sheet! View the consumption and savings per item.

Personalize clothing

You wear work clothes while working and it is important that you have a representative appearance. After all, you are the calling card of your company! So you want to implement the image of your company in your work outfit.

Print clothing

Printing work clothing is a simple but effective method to match your clothing with the corporate identity of your company. With outerwear you often see that the company logo is printed on the chest, sleeve and/or on the back. With work trousers, depending on the type of work trousers, you can apply the logo to the thigh pocket or back pocket. Of course, the specialists at Tricorp are happy to think along with you to do something slightly different for your company!

Designing clothes

Do you want to give your own signature to your company clothing? Adding custom fabrics or labels, your own size label, your company colors, the use of special buttons or a zipper puller with your word mark: a lot is possible. Tricorp has also designed a complete collection for the Haas Formula 1 Team! Have you seen it at the Formula 1 races?

It Specialsteam from Tricorp is happy to help you.

Need advice?

We have written more articles like this for you. You can find these in our knowledge base. Would you like to know more about work jackets? Then you read in this article everything you need to know about the work jacket.

Do you have any further questions or would you prefer personal advice? Then you can always contact one of our experts. We are happy to help you!