Safety In Style As Arco Launches Industry First Hi Vis Collection For Women

Following research highlighting that 15% of female construction workers find it extremely difficult to source protective clothing that fits properly , Arco has worked in consultation with women across the industries to design its new safety garments. The result – a collection of practical, stylish Hi-Vis hazardwear that now fits a woman’s body shape properly, whilst delivering a high level of protection to keep them safe at work.

The range has been designed to fit the contours of the female body and the garments come in standard women’s sizing, for example 8, 10, 12, as opposed to the traditional men’s or unisex sizing of Small, Medium and Large.

Wearing the correct Hi-Vis clothing is crucial; it’s also a simple, cost-effective solution to ensuring that workers remain visible in any working conditions. The fluorescent material that Hi-Vis garments are made from provide day time visibility, whilst the reflective bands around the chest, arms or legs provide night time reflectivity, resulting in 24-hour visibility.

Richard Sansom, Product and Procurement Manager at Arco said, “For PPE to protect you and feel comfortable to wear, it must be properly fitted. What we’ve seen in our industry for far too long, is women simply supplied with small men’s sizes which are not designed to fit the contours or proportions of the female body. The new Arco Women’s Hi-Vis Hazardwear range has been designed in conjunction with women in the industry and for the first time provides employers with a collection of garments to protect the female workforce.”

All garments in the range have been tested and approved to meet EN ISO 20471 for high visibility clothing and we have a range of suitable GO/RT certified garments for use in the rail industry. The women’s Hi-Vis Hazardwear range includes a Hi-Vis jacket, two styles of trousers, a waistcoat, a Hi-Vis soft shell and two options of polo shirt. The Hi-Vis jacket provides a waterproof and breathable shell with a two-band-and-brace configuration, keeping workers both dry and comfortable. The Hi-Vis Waterproof Trousers, which compared with a traditional unisex garment; this trouser provides an appropriate fit, offers exceptional comfort for the wearer, whilst giving protection when working in adverse conditions. The second trouser that Arco has also developed is a Hi-Vis Cargo Trouser for a more stylish but practical and comfortable design. Both trousers hold three bands of reflective tape to ensure visibility when trousers are tucked into boots or bending down, to help reduce the risk of accidents or injury to workers.

On the polo shirts the ‘brace’ reflective bands have been removed so they do not inhibit the chest area, and are made of stretch tape - modifications which help to improve fit, comfort and style.

During our research period, customers informed us of issues they had experienced with previous hazardwear garments so when we designed our new Women’s Hazardwear range we tried to address these issues. All garments in the range have additional features added, where possible to enhance practicality and comfort.

To introduce customers to the new range of Women’s Hi-Vis Hazardwear, Arco has developed a dedicated Expert Guide to offer advice, guidance and information on the new range, additional content including and videos can be seen online. See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJDBhQv1JKg