Proper printed safety shirts are essential to create visibility for people who work in potentially dangerous conditions.
Businesses, schools, railways, airports and many other industries must follow standards created by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and the International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA).
The goal of the ANSI/ISEA safety standards is to make workers easier to see against any background and lighting condition. The standards — whether mandated or recommended — help reduce accidents and save lives in all types of environments.
Several states and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) mandate the wearing of high-visibility safety apparel for construction workers, first responders, highway crews and many other occupations.
Different jobs and work conditions require different levels of visibility. A warehouse worker might not require the same level of safety gear as an aircraft marshal who parks jets for a living.
Wearing the proper safety T-shirts and sweatshirts for the job is essential.
Totally Promotional introduced custom safety apparel in 2020. We know how important it is for businesses to keep their employees and customers safe. We also know how tight budgets can be so we offer free delivery on all of our safety shirts.
To help you select the best reflective work clothes for your crew, let’s review the ANSI/ISEA standards and grab a few tips.
What is high-visibility apparel?
High-visibility safety apparel (HVSA) is clothing created with bright background colors and reflective or retroreflective tape. The three ANSI/ISEA-approved background colors are fluorescent lime, orange and red.
Totally Promotional offers ANSI/ISEA-compliant safety background colors for custom T-shirts and sweatshirts. For detailed information on meeting high-visibility safety apparel standards, visit the American National Standards Institute website.
ANSI 107-2015 Standard for High Visibility
Apparel Performance Classes
Class 1 Apparel: Provides the lowest recognized coverage and visibility. A few of the jobs that may require this class of apparel include directing vehicles in parking lots, shopping cart collectors in parking areas, warehouse operations, and shipping and receiving.
Class 2 Apparel: Provides moderate body coverage and superior visibility. This must include fluorescent orange or lime jackets, bib overalls or vests incorporating retroreflective bands. This class of apparel can apply to roadway construction, utility, forestry, hunters, railway work, survey crews, school crossing guards, toll gate workers, airport baggage handlers and accident scene investigators.
Class 3 Apparel: This level of apparel must be worn where there is machinery or vehicles moving in close proximity or at higher speeds, and where workers must be conspicuous through a full range of body motions at a minimum of 1,280 feet. Class 3 apparel provides the greatest body coverage and visibility under poor lighting conditions and at farther distances. A sampling of jobs that may require this class of apparel include roadway construction, utilities, survey crews, emergency response, road assistance, flagging crews and towing operations.
Note: High-risk work might require Class 2 apparel during the daytime and Class 3 during night or low-light conditions.
Class E Apparel: These are garments that do not meet the requirements of a standard when worn alone, but when a Class E is worn with a Class 2 or Class 3 garment, the overall classification of the ensemble is Class 3.
Extra safety apparel tips:
How safety gear reflects
- In daylight, high-visibility safety gear requires fluorescent materials to reflect invisible ultraviolet light from the sun. The fluorescent materials magnify its visibility.
- In low-light conditions, fluorescent colors aren’t as effective. Retroreflective materials or tape must be used to reflect the light from vehicle headlights, flashlights and other artificial lighting.
- In daylight conditions, retroreflective strips are as visible as any other material so they don’t help the wearer stand out.
Shopping for safety apparel
- Transportation safety apparel and other safety work gear should be comfortable for the wearer. Shop for long-sleeved T-shirts or hooded sweatshirts and crewnecks in safety colors for workers who perform their jobs in cooler climates or conditions. Styles such as our Jerzees® Dri-Power® Active Cotton-Poly T-Shirt With Safety Colors help absorb sweat in warmer conditions.
- A colorful logo or message can make your safety shirts even more visible. Totally Promotional offers full-color imprints to enhance safety and promote your design. We also print one-, two- and three-color designs on our safety shirts.
Safety clothing and knowledge are key
Keeping everyone safe is easier when you know the rules and have essentials such as company safety shirts.
Safety is a priority for our own employees at Totally Promotional, and we know the businesses and organizations we serve feel the same way. Placing your logo on work safety gear shows you care about your workers and customers.
Our graphic designers are ready to help you place your unique logo or message on high-quality safety clothing your team will be proud to wear.
Shop our entire collection of custom safety shirts today!
