According to a study by MyWorkwear, a provider of workwear, personalised uniform and PPE products, one in six construction workers replace their workwear only once a year.
With workwear playing a vital part in how workers conduct their role, MyWorkwear wanted to delve into the cleanliness of uniforms worn by UK professionals to determine how often they clean and replace items, alongside their general opinions of their workwear – and the company was somewhat surprised by its findings.
The key statistics for those working within the construction sector are as follows:
When asked how often they clean items such as trousers, a third (33%) state once per week, compared to 7% who state a couple of times per month. Looking at tops such as shirts, 24% wash them once per week, with 5% only washing them a few times per month.
Delving further into items such as overalls, almost a quarter (24%) wash them once per week, whereas 10% wash them a few times per month. For items such as jackets and fleeces, 30% wash them once per week compared to 10% who wash them a few times per month.
Questioning workers about their reasons for cleaning their workwear, 10% expressed that their employer requires them to. However, when asked how often they replace their workwear, 15% only replace items once per year whereas 22% replace items once every two months.
Analysing their opinions on their workwear, positively, over two-fifths (41%) are happy with their workwear but 23% expressed that they’d like to change the items as they’re too tight fitting; while 10% believe the items don’t compliment or suit different heights and body frames.
Discussing how often different items of workwear should be washed, James Worthington, Co-Owner and Co-Managing Director at MyWorkwear, comments, “It’s dependent on the items and as per the instructions and hygiene requirements of individuals. It’s also dependent on the environment in which the items are being used. For example, those on-site would need to wash items more regularly due to dirt build-up, compared to those off-site.
“Wash under layers more often than outer layers and replace once stains can no longer be washed out, therefore impacting brand image. It’s also important that all branded layers are washed regularly so that branding is always on show regardless of changing weather conditions. For example, if it suddenly starts to rain, a clean branded coat should be available.”
For more from MyWorkwear, click here.