Page 21 - Occupational Health & Safety, August 2018

and preventing heat stress. Water Vapor Transmission Rate, or “WVTR,” is about the breathability of the fabric. This was created by fabric designers to compare and quantify just how breathable fabrics are today. Each of these factors is extremely important, and none is more important than another. Determining what the better high-performance fabric is can’t be determined by one of these factors alone.
Layering is another important concept of high-performance fabrics. It allows you to wear lighter-weight garments while keep- ing out the elements. This in turn keeps the body drier, cooler, and/ or warmer, depending on the conditions. As mentioned above, the “WVTR” is critical to know for mid-layers, sweatshirts, and outer- wear, as this becomes the transfer of moisture from fabric to fab- ric. The higher the “WVTR,” the more moisture is spreading to the next garment. Functionality and mobility also increase as weight of fabric the decreases.
When choosing a high-performance FR fabric based on a num- ber alone, be wary of marketers. Ask for the data; it is available. There are different blends of high-performance fabrics, and they all perform differently. Smart shoppers look at the tags to determine the blend of fabrics and what high performance is. The same high- performance fabrics that the world’s top athletes wear are available in this market! There must be a blend of hydrophobic and hydro- philic to have permanent moisture wicking.
So if after wearing high-performance FR fabrics your employ- ees—your industrial athletes—are more comfortable, better pro- tected, better focused on what’s in front of them and not on their moisture-soaked clothes, won’t their attitude and belief in high- performance FR fabrics result in a better safety culture? These are the industrial athletes you want on your team.
Brad Sipe is the director of Business Development for Lakeland In- dustries. He has been in the FR market for over 10 years and 15 years in the apparel industry. He is also a speaker throughout the country on heat stress and its relationship with FR fabrics. He can be reached at 224-632-0663 or bssipe@lakeland.com.
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Arc Protection is No Sweat with Lakeland FR Knits
Outlast the elements with:
• NFPA 2112 –
UL Certified apparel
• Superior moisture wicking technology
• Seamless underarm gussets
• Tag-free back collar
• NFPA 70E - CAT 2 protection in a base layer garment
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