Balancing aesthetics, and functionality with comfort: Compliance-friendly protective clothing

Abstract

History is created when technology and innovations come together. Blending this with aesthetics opens a new plethora of opportunities. Protective clothing (PC) combines technology and innovations. It is part of technical textiles, which comprise those textiles–based products, primarily used for their performance rather than the aesthetic value. PC is designed to shield or isolate individuals during occupational operations from physical, chemical, and biological hazards. This paper aims at designing compliance-friendly protective clothing for petrochemical, agrochemical, fluorochemical industries, and Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs). Though meant for safety, the chemical industries & OEMs see a major lack of compliance. The authors start a discussion that workers are more likely to wear PC if it meets their aesthetic expectations along with maintaining comfort at work. There is potential to advance what we wear, and how it's designed, manufactured, and marketed to the world. Fashion is moving beyond fanciful borders towards a new wave of innovators aiming to impact fashion on an everyday level. The PC market saw initial developments in the finish of fabrics, after which comfort with functionality came along. This needs to evolve into blending smart textiles, comfort, and style statement. Presently industrial workers have no other choice but to wear current safety wear under the pretext of safety compliance. The researchers through this paper look to provide new design solutions for industrial workers, which blend their safety with fashion. The target market includes select OEMs and chemical industry workers. The research methodology will include a detailed survey by convenient sampling for the assessment of clothing needs. The key is to balance function (protection) and form (style, comfort, and wearability) within the scope of a realistic hazard assessment and risk analysis.