May 15, 2025
In a world where visibility is essential in low-light conditions, reflective materials in clothing play a crucial role in safety. Designed to enhance visibility in low light conditions, these materials help reduce the risk of accidents, prevent struck-by traffic incidents, and protect a wide range of individuals—from firefighters and construction workers to cyclists—ultimately saving lives and preventing accidents.
“Creating attention to the worker wearing certified high visibility garments, is key for safety in low light conditions at night - and our certified reflective tapes and fabrics does that great !” explains Kim Christensen, Sales Director - EMEA & North America at J-Long Ltd.
Workwear trims are evolving constantly, as brands seek out fabric options for year-round comfort and cost-effective solutions. Traditionally, reflective tapes are made with retro-reflective micro glass beads and sewn on. Today, high-tech reflective materials can be seamlessly integrated into fabrics and trims, and here J-Long’s different solutions in heat transfer reflective tapes can be found in many versions. These advancements include specialized properties such as flame-retardant reflective materials, further enhancing safety and protection.
The Future Ahead
Several major trends are shaping the reflective material market today. Workplace safety and protective workwear are evolving at an impressive pace. With a focus on sustainable practices, selecting the right reflective material isn’t just about compliance - it’s about creating an environment where safety meets comfort and style. Consumers are seeking durable and adaptable workwear and uniform products. Let’s dive into what’s shaping reflective workwear trims in 2025 and how it impacts businesses and consumers alike.
Optimised for Longevity
With advancements in reflective materials, workwear can now withstand numerous domestic washes while preserving the integrity of the reflective material and other protective features. This extends the lifespan of the garments, ensuring long-lasting visibility that remains both clean and effective. This is especially important when you have limited time to clean a work garment and need to rely on a washing machine to clean your hi-vis clothing without causing damage. For industrial wash solutions, durability and reflective performance after multiple cycles are key.
Designing For Durability
If we can reduce the amount of new products introduced into the world while extending their lifespan, we can significantly lessen our environmental impact. We design products for some of the harshest environments, ensuring it withstands the test of time. Our goal is to offer exceptionally strong and durable workwear trims. Investing in durable, high-quality materials initially may incur higher costs, but the longevity of these garments ultimately reduces the need for frequent replacements, proving economically beneficial in the long term. By integrating these strategies, businesses can achieve both sustainability and cost-effectiveness in their workwear solutions.
Heat transfer & Fabric Selection for Comfort
Reflective materials are typically attached to safety clothing through heat transfer or sewing. Heat transfer applications are often preferred, as they allow for a seamless, single-piece design rather than individual stitched components. This approach enhances comfort and minimizes issues associated with stitched reflective materials. Selecting heat transfer is crucial in ensuring comfort and maintaining a professional appearance. Lightweight and breathable fabrics are excellent choices for summer workwear. Enabling different bespoke and special segmentations are also considered to be a key feature in making the optimum comfortable and durable high visibility garment.
When considering climate-specific workwear, incorporating these fabrics can significantly enhance employee comfort and productivity during the hotter months.
Sustainable Fabric Choice
Sustainability in uniform procurement has become a significant focus for businesses aiming to reduce their environmental impact. By choosing sustainable materials and eco-friendly fabrics, companies can significantly decrease their Scope 3 emissions, which include indirect emissions through supply chains. This approach not only enhances corporate responsibility but also meets the growing demand from consumers and employees for environmentally conscious products
For sew-on applications, a fabric base made from recycled polyester yarn is selected for its sustainability and environmental benefits. Recycled polyester is derived from post-consumer plastic bottles or industrial polyester waste. This choice not only helps minimize plastic waste but also lowers the overall carbon footprint of production.
Trims & Accessories
Reflective materials come in various forms, each tailored to different applications and garment types:
As sustainability and technology continue to evolve, we can look forward to more eco-friendly and high-performance solutions that not only meet but exceed current safety standards, ensuring that visibility and safety remain top priorities in every field. “During the coming years and the near future, we are going to see that the protective clothing will be super comfortable, flexible, performing and very durable,” explains Kim Christensen, for the sustainable part especially the long lasting part will be key, as the garment will have a much longer lifetime than cheaper and shorter lasting solutions. Using heat transfer applicated high quality reflective solutions will ensure the optimum safety, durability and wearer comfort which the coming generation of workers will find very attractive and wanted.
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About Kim Christensen
Working with high visibility since 1996, amongst as Garment Product Developer, Sales manager of 3M Scotchlite reflective solutions and being a long year member of CEN/TC162/WG7 High visibility warning clothing, Kim Christensen has many years of experience in the whole value chain of high visibility warning clothing and workwear. From ingredient development, over certification to garment development and manufacturing.
