Why your workwear wears out too fast — and how to fix it

Every professional garment leaves the workshop with a care label that is anything but arbitrary: it reflects the conditions under which the fabric, the seams, the treatments and any reflective bands were tested. Washing ten degrees hotter does not "clean better": it accelerates dye migration, stresses the seams and can distort panels.

It softens, it perfumes, it gives the impression of well-treated laundry. And it leaves a greasy film on the fibres. On household sheets, that is harmless. On workwear, that film blocks the gaps in the weave: breathability drops, so does the ability to move sweat away, and water-repellent or flame-retardant finishes lose part of their effectiveness. Repeatedly softened polycotton paradoxically becomes hotter to wear.

• No softener on technical, high-visibility, flame-retardant or water-repellent garments — no exceptions.
• No bleach or chlorine-based detergent on fluorescent colours: the fading is irreversible.
• Use a detergent without optical brighteners on bright colours, which otherwise go dull.
• Measure the dose: excess detergent is not fully rinsed out and stiffens the fabric cycle after cycle.

If you only change one habit, make it this one. High-heat tumble drying shrinks natural fibres, weakens elastane, gradually lifts transfers, and can cause differential shrinkage between fabric and retroreflective bands — hence those tell-tale ripples along the bands on a garment that has been overheated. Moderate drying, or better still air drying in the shade, extends an outfit's life dramatically.

In Morocco that is good news: nine months a year, the air does the job for free. Keep one reflex — dry in the shade rather than in full sun. Ultraviolet attacks dyes, and a navy dried in the sun all summer visibly loses depth.

Putting a coverall soaked in machine grease and medical tunics in the same drum is a bad idea for everyone. Greasy soiling redeposits, light textiles go grey, and the cycle has to be pushed to compensate — which wears out everything else. A rough but consistent sort beats a sophisticated protocol nobody follows.

• Keep heavily greased or dust-laden garments apart from the rest of the load.
• Keep fluorescent colours away from dark ones, at least for the first few washes.
• Close zips and press studs before washing: left open, they snag and scratch other pieces.
• Empty the pockets. One forgotten knife can ruin a whole machine-load.
• Turn printed garments inside out: drum friction is the direct enemy of transfers.

Past a certain headcount the question arises: let everyone wash their own outfit at home, or hand the laundry to an industrial service. Home washing is free in appearance but uncontrollable — you will never know at what temperature, or with what. An industrial laundry runs standardised cycles (EN ISO 15797 describes these processes specifically for workwear), tracks each pass, and spots worn pieces before they fail.

Whichever option you choose, an outfit's lifespan feeds directly into what it actually costs you. We broke that down in our article on cost per wear — that is often where the gap between two seemingly identical offers really sits.