High-Visibility Clothing: What the Standards Cover
By The Velocity Wear Team
High-visibility clothing is a certified product. It is not a colour, and a reflective graphic does not create it. This is a general orientation rather than safety advice — selection should follow a risk assessment for the actual working environment, and you should check the current version of any standard, since they are revised.
What certification is based on
The widely used international standard for high-visibility clothing sets requirements for two materials working together: fluorescent background material, which makes a wearer conspicuous in daylight, and retroreflective material, which returns vehicle headlights at night.
Certification depends on the minimum areas of each material, their placement on the garment, and their performance after specified testing including washing. It is a property of the whole garment as manufactured, which is why alterations matter.
The classes
- **Class 1** — the lowest level, with the smallest required material areas. Suited to low-risk environments away from traffic.
- **Class 2** — intermediate, commonly used where there is vehicle movement at lower speeds.
- **Class 3** — the highest level and the most material, typically required near high-speed traffic. Usually needs a garment with sleeves.
Which class applies is determined by risk assessment rather than preference, and combinations can count — a certified vest over certified trousers may achieve a higher overall level than either alone, where the standard permits it.
Where decoration becomes a problem
This is the part that catches buyers out. Adding a logo to a certified garment can reduce the certified areas of fluorescent or retroreflective material below the required minimum, and at that point the garment may no longer meet the class it was sold as.
- 1**Do not print over reflective tape.** It stops it reflecting, which is the entire function.
- 2**Watch the total printed area,** since large prints reduce the fluorescent background that the class depends on.
- 3**Follow the manufacturer’s decoration guidance,** which certified garments usually carry, specifying where and how much decoration is permitted.
- 4**Ask your supplier to confirm** that the decoration you want keeps the garment within its class.
Washing and end of life
Hi-vis performance degrades. Fluorescent material fades with UV exposure and washing, and reflective tape loses performance as it is abraded and washed. Garments carry a stated maximum number of wash cycles for this reason.
A faded, grubby hi-vis garment may no longer perform even though it looks broadly like hi-vis. Replacement cycles are part of the specification, not an optional refresh — which is why a uniform programme involving hi-vis needs a replacement budget from the outset.
The practical position
Buy certified garments from a supplier who can produce the documentation, decorate them within the manufacturer’s guidance, and replace them on schedule. And take proper advice on what your environment requires rather than working from an article.
