Safety footwear and workwear has become an unavoidable part of life for many dangerous professions, particularly in light of increasingly strict health and safety at work laws. Wherever you turn there is a tradesman in a high visibility jacket, or a construction worker with safety boots and thick leather gloves. This has also given rise to a massive market for commercially orientated safety workwear and footwear, which thrives on the requirements of these industries. But is safety footwear really essential in dangerous trades, and do we really need safety workwear in any line of work?
Safety footwear and workwear has grown in popularity over the last several decades as trade and employment become more and more government regulated. With a paradigm shift towards safety and caring for employees rather than maximising profits, a huge demand has been created for protective clothing and garments in the work environment. From architects to zoologists, the demand for safety clothing has spiralled to such a degree that even mainstream manufacturers like Puma and Adidas have launched protective lines to enter the market.
All this begs the questions ‘how useful is all this safety-conscious footwear and workwear?’ As compared to a regular pair of shoes or boots, safety footwear is specifically designed to protect the feet in dangerous environments. Take your average building site for example. A construction site is a dangerous playground filled with bricks, heavy timber, nails, concrete, lethal machinery. In this type of environment accidents do happen, and they happen frequently. Without safety footwear, there would undoubtedly be far more instances of protruding nails penetrating feet, and crushed toes from heavy weight. If not for properly supported, solid safety footwear, these regular accidents would be far more severe, and cause far more problems for the employees concerned.
Similarly consider a workman on a highway carrying out essential maintenance through the night. Without a quality high visibility jacket, this kind of job would be made considerably more dangerous, and it is essential that visibility is maintained throughout to avoid motor accidents and disruption. Or how about working with chemicals? Is it important to have safety footwear and workwear in this kind of scenario?
The list is endless. Safety footwear and safety workwear is designed for the sole purpose of protecting the wear in dangerous situations, whether directly or indirectly as in the case of the high visibility jacket. On top of the safety advantages, these garments also help ensure you don’t ruin your ordinary clothes in the course of employment, providing a duality of benefit that makes them essential to own for those involved in dangerous or risky trades such as construction, or any form of dangerous manual labour.
Safetywear has become an increasingly popular choice for many, and a necessity for employers working above the law in recent years. But it’s not just a necessity in legal terms. It is also essential for the protection and prevention of injury to employees, and practically speaking, for the avoidance of legal action.