High visibility apparel plays a critical role in making the jobs of those who work in hazardous environments safer. Indeed, high visibility apparel is a key category of the industrial protective clothing market, a sector which is expected to achieve significant growth between 2016 and 2021 as safety awareness increases and industrialisation proceeds in developing countries, according to a Report of Textile Intelligence.
High visibility apparel is also being used increasingly to minimise risks by members of the public who use the roads, including vehicle drivers and cyclists. Wearers of safety apparel are able to choose from a variety of high visibility garments, including those which incorporate fluorescent materials and/or retroreflective materials.
Additionally, advances in wearable technology have facilitated the development of garments which incorporate light emitting diodes (LEDs). Furthermore, while safety is considered to be of the highest importance in the design of high visibility protective apparel, style and comfort are also key. Indeed, several high visibility garments are designed so that they facilitate performance properties such as moisture wicking, or are styled in a way which is similar to conventional casual apparel. However, the use of high visibility materials is by no means restricted to safety apparel as retroreflective materials are being used increasingly to add attractive design details to casual apparel.