Page 20 - Occupational Health & Safety, August 2018

PROTECTIVE APPAREL
The Benefits of High-Performance FR
Want to improve safety culture? Try high-performance FR fabrics.
BY BRAD SIPE
The world’s top athletes wear high-perfor- mance fabrics to optimize their performance and have a better concentration on the task in front of them. Can high-performance FR fabrics help your employees be safer, more focused, and achieve a better safety culture?
Safety culture is the attitude, beliefs, perceptions, and values that your employees share in relation to safety in the workplace. High-performance is a term used to describe moisture-wicking technology. These specialized fabrics have been around for over 20 years. They were created to boost an athlete’s performance in extreme outdoor situations, keeping them drier and cooler in hot conditions and warmer and drier in cold weather. The challenge for many is understanding the science behind the fabric.
Moisture wicking’s history started with a synthetic fiber (like polyester) with a chemical finish applied to allow moisture to spread. Eventually the finish would wash out and the fabric lost its wicking abilities. The tag on garments will reveal the blend of fibers. A blend of 100 percent of any fiber or a group of fibers that are 100 percent aramid, along with claims of moisture wicking, identifies the presence of a chemical finish. Check to see whether the manufacturer guarantees wicking for life of the garment; chances are they don’t. Today, the next generation of high-performance fab- rics has a combination of hydrophobic (water-hating) and hydrophilic (water-loving) fibers. Examples of hydrophobic fibers include modacrylic, aramids, and para-aramids, while hydrophilic fibers include ray- on and lyocell. The combination of these two fibers blended together ensures permanent moisture wick- ing for the life of the garment. The big question then becomes, what is the optimal blend of these two fibers
that create a soft hand while performing the best? Blends of these fibers range from 90 percent/10 percent (90 percent hydrophobic, 10 percent hydro- philic) to 55/45. Data has proven that the optimal blend is when both numbers are closer together, which is 55/45. This allows for better face (skin side) pick up and transport. If you don’t have enough hy- drophilic fiber, the fabric won’t absorb well, and if you don’t have enough hydrophobic, the fabric will not push the moisture to the front as well. It is the balance
of the blend that creates a high performance product.
The Importance of WVTR
There are a few key characteristics that high-perfor- mance fabrics have. Vertical wicking is how fast and far moisture spreads. Back-to-front moisture trans- port rate is critical in keeping clothes drier faster with less chance of heat rash. This also allows more heat to escape your body, helping thermo-regulation
16 Occupational Health & Safety | AUGUST 2018
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LAKELAND INDUSTRIES
LAKELAND INDUSTRIES