Sustainable Workwear In The Care Sector
By Greg Houlston, General Manager at Alsico UK (www.alsico.co.uk)
The UK’s ageing population has created an increased need for adult social care. In England alone, over the next 25 years, the number of people older than 85 will double to 2.6 million. As a result, the care sector is expanding at an accelerated rate, with the UK care home workforce already totalling almost 750,000 and continuing to grow year-on-year. The sector is under immense pressure to continue delivering exceptional service to some of our most vulnerable UK residents, whilst also working towards industrywide net zero efforts.
High quality workwear is essential for those working in the care sector.
A well-designed uniform signals the wearer’s authority whilst enabling wearers to carry out their responsibilities safely and comfortably. The uniform helps care professionals to be identified easily by residents and visitors, which is particularly important in vulnerable moments. Due to the physical nature of the role, garments need to be able to stretch and facilitate a broad range of movement, while keeping wearers comfortable during long, demanding shifts. However, in recent years sustainability has also become a higher priority for the care sector, since the UK government’s commitment to achieve net zero by 2050. This industrywide target encouraged businesses to explore more sustainable working practices, including the care sector.
There has been a notable rise in workwear providers committing to more sustainable choices in the design and manufacture of uniforms in recent years. An increasing number of uniforms are now available which have been developed with the use of sustainable fibre sources, e.g. sustainable cotton sources from partnerships with businesses such as the Better Cotton Initiative. Furthermore, a growing number of workwear manufacturers are opting to undertake verification processes to confirm the legitimacy of their sustainability claims. This is positive news for care home companies looking for more environmentally-considered options because independent verification processes such as the Global Recycled Standard (GRS) and Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) hold workwear companies accountable to their claims. Many organisations are voluntarily undergoing standardised verification processes, but stricter legislation around sustainability verification will significantly help to improve environmental requirements across the industry.
Whilst significant progress has been made already, there is still a long way to go and more to be done for uniform providers to offer the selection of sustainable options required. Despite the care sector’s commitment to sustainability, workwear developments must not neglect the requirement for durability and comfort. Workwear providers who understand the needs of the sector will deliver designs that enable carers to work with the stretch and fit required, whilst contributing towards the care company’s own sustainability targets. In addition to this, providers must understand the budget restrictions that the care sector is under, and factor this into the design process to ensure that the uniform manufactured is durable throughout the carer’s physical responsibilities, but also during the laundry process.
Attitudes towards sustainability and responsibility in the UK workwear industry in recent years are changing, however, there still remains a lack of consistency across the sector as a whole. The suitability of a carer’s uniform and how they feel when they wear it must be the highest priority for the care sector when making decisions about new workwear. However, the industrywide focus on net zero is not going away, and it is up to the workwear providers to ensure that care homes can work towards their own sustainability goals without compromising on performance. With an ageing population set to increase the number of care home residents and carers required in the years to come, the level of uniform required in the sector is only going to grow, which makes this task is therefore even more crucial now.
