PROTECTIVE CLOTHING & WORKWEAR FABRIC OF THE FUTURE


Carrington Textiles talks to Tomorrow’s Health and Safety about how its investment in research and development has helped extend a level of personal protection into more of its materials.


Over the past few years, we have seen manufacturers increasingly request protective fabrics that are easier to work with when it comes to creating garments with aesthetic appeal. While safety is as much of a priority as ever, we believe the industry is altering its definition of worker wellbeing to include pride in appearance.


We recognise that it is the responsibility of leading manufacturers in the PPE industry, like ourselves, to meet this demand in new and innovative ways. Through pushing the boundaries of PPE, we can help to equip workers with clothing that is not only protective and durable, but with improved visual aesthetics.


Within any manufacturing company, the research and development team is an invaluable resource. It is only with their knowledge and expertise that we can overcome industry-wide challenges and work towards universal goals, which includes sustainability.


It is with this in mind that Carrington recently invested into a series of machinery upgrades at our Adlington factory, ensuring the production site is one of the most advanced facilities in the world. This has enabled our R&D team to have up to 100 fabrics in various stages of production at any one time, all the way from concept, through to final testing.


Having launched our Stretch range in 2017, we soon recognised the need to go one step further and produce a fabric that offered protection, as well as comfort and ease of movement.


As a result, our laboratory has spent three years fine- tuning our latest FR stretch development: Flameflex 275. As one of Europe’s first industrially launderable flame-retardant fabrics with stretch qualities, it answers demand for a garment that delivers comfort, without compromising the worker’s safety.


As a company that holds worker well-being at the core of everything we do, our goal with Flameflex 275 was to combine the qualities of safety and functionality to deliver a fabric that could be worn by a new category of workers. These being everyday workers who require a level of flex and bend in their garments who would benefit from an added layer of protection they may not have had previously.


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Like any innovation, the R&D phase of the Flameflex 275 did not come without its challenges. For example, having initially considered the use of “elastic” fibres in a 95% cotton fabric, we soon realised that traditional fibres wouldn’t stand up to the flame-retardant process, nor durability testing in industrial laundering.


However, the mixing of cotton and elastolefin fibres also allowed for the incorporation of polyester, which ultimately led to a product with increased strength and abrasion resistance, as well as one that maintains its stretch properties even after regular washes of up to 75 degrees – without risk of excessive shrinkage.


This fibre blend also meant that, while the flame- retardant garment met all of the EN 11611, 11612 and 14116 accreditations, it could still be produced in the form of a midweight fabric at 275gsm.


Crucially, the material is flexible enough that manufacturers can engineer to fit, meaning workers are no longer restricted to blocky ‘boilersuit’ shapes of the past, and instead can move towards a more fashion-forward item, provided all garment norms and standards are adhered to. Innovations like these, that work with the biomechanics of the body, is game- changing for almost every industry where workers are active and need a fabric with give.


While PPE manufacturers will continuously strive to ensure the worker’s safety above anything else, we recognise an industry that is gradually turning its attention towards a fabric that is protective, without compromising the comfort or appearance of the worker.


www.carrington.co.uk/en www.tomorrowshs.com


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