Construction companies normally have requirements for worker shirts. Due to regulations and basic identity requirements, the worker shirts are advised to have reflector tapes on it, as well as printed company name and other printed logo(s), as necessary.
The Occupational Safety and Health Admistration (OSHA) standard encourages the use of reflector garments in construction of all highways and other road construction. The reflector increases the visibility of people, especially in hazardous environments. Some factories, and plants mandates the use of reflectorized garments when working on their premises. Some consider it as part of the Personal Protective Equipment or PPE's.
For the logo and prints, Silk screen print is usually done to these shirts as these are more durable compared to heat-pressed ones. The silk screen print dye binds well with the fabric, and it does not fall off despite continuous use. After months and years of use, the print may fade, but still intact. From our experience, some prints from heat-pressed shirts may start to fall off after several washing.
A common shirt material is cotton. This fabric is comfortable to wear and breathable enough so the workers does not feel hot wearing it. It is also available in the market on different thicknesses. A thicker fabric is typically more durable and has good form when worn. Meanwhile a thinner fabric is cheaper as they use less cotton material. Think of the typical give-away shirts by politicians during election.
Long sleeve shirts not only protect the body from the sun exposure, it also somehow minimize the impact of objects such as small debris that might hit their arm/body.
Some clients of SVC Clothing request for cotton material for their long sleeve worker shirts.
Below is a blue cotton long sleeve shirt with 1 inch gray reflector tape below the chest, to the back and on the arm. There is a silk screen print on the left chest, for the company logo. There is also a bigger silk screen print of the company logo and company name on the back. The cuff was made to make the worker comfortable, and it is not big, so it will not slip down into their elbow while working.
Another material available is the "Drifit"- like material. This kind of material is usually used in sports apparel because they are light-weight, and does not become heavy even after sweating (unlike cotton).
This kind of material brings the sweat from the skin to the surface of the fabric, where it evaporates. Some fabrics with these characteristics are 1) Fullmax 2) Lytex 3) Polydex , just to name a few.
Each fabric look different from each other when you look closely. Below is a close-up photo of the fabric.
Another request we have is from a multinational company. They are well known in the construction industry and had completed several big projects in the Philippines. They requested for a "drifit"like material of long sleeve shirt, with collar and pocket, for their workers. For this requirement, they chose a Polydex fabric.
The collar is custom knitted, with its blue color and an orange lining. Two 2 inch gray/orange reflector tapes fell around the shoulder and the chest. Another tape was used on the belly area. Two buttons in the placket area was used.
A 2 color Silk Screen print was done for the company logo on the left chest pocket. There was also a company name print on the back of the shirt. This design was approved locally as well as their foreign counterparts.
Meanwhile, another local company have a recent requirement for almost 1,200 pcs of long sleeve, cotton worker shirt. They have a budget they need to stick to, and a preferred design. They required two reflector tapes running from the shoulder to the bottom of the shirt. Tapes are also on the two elbows. A three color silk screen print was used for the company logo on the left chest. The name of the person is printed on white, on the right chest. The workers group/team is printed on the back for identification. Also, a two color print of "safety first"logo was printed on their left arm.
The typical delivery lead time for these shirts is around 5 weeks upon order placement and sample approval. This is good for a just a few hundreds to more than a thousand quantity order. Some may have a shorter delivery lead time if a ready to wear (RTW) shirt size was used and only need a few prints and sewing of reflector tapes. The price is influenced by the quantities required and the design requirement. A thicker fabric, more reflector tapes, more silk screen prints may add to the cost. Whatever your requirement, SVC Clothing is ready to assist.