Hohenstein project focuses on UV-protective workwear
Germany-based research and testing centre the Hohenstein Institute are looking at ways of providing workers who are outdoors for long periods of time, such as builders, gardeners, farmers and law enforcement officers, with UV protection clothing that is convenient to wear.
Boris Bauer is a project leader at the Hohenstein Institute and is currently trying to develop working clothes which provide adequate UV protection for a full (working) day and at the same time are breathable and feel like light casual clothes.
"Working clothing that provides UV protection has to be able to be washed lots of times and that's why, until now, it was always made of thick fabrics that soon made you feel uncomfortable if you had to exert yourself physically," says Dr Bauer.
"It is a widely held misconception that any clothing provides adequate sun protection. Depending on the type and density of the fibre, the surface finish, the structure and colour of the textile, the UV protection factor can be very different. Our aim is to develop working clothes which, visually and functionally, are more like normal working or leisure clothes, but have additional functionality such as good UV protection and are comfortable to wear. Only when all these aspects come together will more people begin to include this type of clothing in their working wardrobe and so protect themselves from the negative effects of UV radiation."
Researchers have already gone a long way towards achieving this aim with their first functional samples: their long-sleeved shirts have a UV protection factor (UPF) of 80 in particularly exposed areas such as the shoulders. The fabric used in these areas is also extremely hard-wearing.
The knitted fabric used for the back and sleeves is stretchy, making the shirt easy to pull on and off, and also has a UV protection factor (UPF) of 80. Special textile zones under the armpits and around the stomach have been incorporated to provide moisture management benefits.
Dr. Bauer says that making this improved working clothing easy to look after poses an additional challenge. "When we are choosing the combination of materials and treating them, we have to make sure that they can be washed not only in a domestic washing machine but also under the mechanical and thermal stresses of commercial laundries,” he says. “We are currently working intensively on this issue with our functional samples."
