Have you ever thought about the work uniforms that are specific to your industry? Why your employees wear them? What role they play in their jobs? Do they help them complete tasks more efficiently? With greater comfort?

The truth is a lot of effort and consideration go into the work uniforms your teammates wear. With more than 75 years of experience, Vestis™ not only knows work uniforms, but also the type of garments that are typically preferred for different jobs by industry — because when you feel good in your uniform and when it helps get your job done, you can do great work.

Let’s look at some of the things that you should consider when choosing industry-specific work uniforms:

Food Services

At the forefront of every busy kitchen is the preparation, cooking and serving of good food in a safe manner. That means that work uniforms used in the kitchen must help protect workers from kitchen hazards and customers from foodborne illnesses.

Chef uniforms, cook uniforms and culinary uniforms help present a neat, professional appearance in your kitchen and dining facilities. This is particularly important in popular open kitchen environments. But there are many other important features to consider when sourcing chef uniforms, cook uniforms and culinary uniforms:

• Double-breasted chef coats provide an additional layer of protection from spills and splash overs of hot or boiling liquids and open heat sources
• Elastic waistbands on pants or snaps on jackets allow for quick removal of garments in the event of accidental burns or spills in busy kitchens
• Heavy-duty commercial fabrics and construction that can withstand kitchen wear and tear and frequent laundering
• Select colors that are appropriate to your kitchen needs. While chef uniforms are often traditional white to present a clean, professional image, you might also consider checkered pants to hide stains. Different color uniforms can designate kitchen roles (i.e., one color for cooks’ uniforms and another for culinary uniforms).
• The design and construction of work uniforms isn’t the only consideration in your kitchen. The laundering process plays a big role in helping to stop the spread of cross contaminants and foodborne illnesses. Vestis uses an advanced level of clean in its laundering process to help eliminate risk.

Healthcare

Healthcare facilities are busy places with a range of employees tasked with specific responsibilities. Healthcare garments help project a professional image and can aid in identifying job functions or departments within the facility. Nurse scrub uniforms and healthcare uniforms have many unique benefits:

• Scrubs and healthcare uniforms are worn as a protective barrier between the wearer and infectious substances, bodily fluids and chemicals.
• The V-neck design found in many scrub styles allows for greater range of motion and comfort in performing job tasks, as well as increased air circulation during stressful or busy times. Pockets are another important feature that enables easy access to often-used equipment or personal items.
• Scrubs allow for easy identification of a healthcare worker to patients, visitors and other staff members. Departments can be segmented with various color options.
• Another benefit of colored nurse scrub uniforms and healthcare uniforms is to hide stains and cut down on eyestrain that can result from bright lights reflecting on white uniforms (a color that was common among nurses in the past).
• A rental program for nurses’ scrub uniforms and healthcare uniforms allows the wearer to leave their work at work as opposed to bringing dirty uniforms —as well as potentially harmful infections or viruses home to their families. Vestis provides complete uniform management and helps to reduce cross contamination risks with proven industrial laundering systems.

Industrial/Manufacturing

Companies in the industrial/manufacturing sector know the importance of outfitting their employees in appropriate safety uniforms. While comfort, durability and other practical features are all very important in the completion of day-to-day activities, the safety of employees is paramount in these environments.

Keep these key things top of mind when it comes to selecting your safety uniforms:

• Reflective uniforms are essential when greater visibility is needed. Enhanced visibility uniforms have reflective striping on contrasting dark colors to provide added visibility for forklift drivers, warehouse workers or delivery drivers. High vis uniforms feature reflective striping on top of bright color fabrics such as orange or yellow. These are typically worn when an employee is doing work around moving vehicles outside where light conditions may vary.
• Safety uniforms take a lot of abuse. It’s important to look for durable fabrics and quality construction, including threads, buttons and stitching.
• When it comes to safety uniforms, you don’t want to take chances with how your garments are laundered. FR uniforms must maintain their inherent FR properties to ensure the safety of workers and to comply with regulatory standards. Conventional home laundering solutions can contain certain chemicals that may compromise the integrity and performance of safety uniforms. Trust the well-being of your uniforms and employees to a company like Vestis who will professionally launder, inspect and repair your safety uniforms to maintain inherent safety properties.

Retail and Service

A professional and a neat appearance carries a lot of clout when it comes to retail or service businesses — and your employees’ work uniforms go a long way in conveying this image. Whether it’s landscaping uniforms, janitor uniforms or grocery store uniforms, workwear identifies employees, creates unity and promotes professionalism.

Follow these tips when choosing uniforms for your crew:

• Create uniformity and team pride with brand colors and customized logos and names. Team uniforms also provide added identification and security for visitors to your location.
• Take into consideration the type of work your employee will be performing. Physical jobs require durability to stand up to wear and abuse. They also require work uniforms that are comfortable and provide increased mobility. Manual jobs may require a defense against grease and grime. For example, a janitor’s uniform maintains a neat appearance when dark colors are used to hide the appearance of stains and a grocery store uniform needs to be easily identifiable to a customer looking for assistance.
• Consider where your employees are performing their jobs. What they are wearing might affect their performance and productivity. For those who work outdoors or in refrigerated areas, climate, changing seasons and personal comfort need to be considered. Vestis offers a wide range of work pants, shorts, long- and short-sleeve shirts and outerwear that satisfies varying locations. This is particularly important to someone wearing a landscaping uniform who may be outside in hot sun and humidity or shoveling snow in cold and wind.
• Remember, one size does not fit all when it comes to your uniforms. Show your employees you care about their comfort, appearance and personal style by offering a variety of sizes, styles and fits to accommodate both men and women while still adhering to work uniform standards.

To learn more about how Vestis can help with your work uniform program, simply contact us for more information. Our program experts are ready to discuss options appropriate for your business.