Here’s our guide on what’s good and bad with polyester.

 

From the kick-off, we’ll look at the plus points of polyester. One of the best properties of polyester is its quick drying ability. If you wash it, you can probably have it dried and ready to wear in around an hour if it’s nice and warm.

 

It also will not go out of shape when wet or washed, and can withstand a much higher heat in the washing machine.

 

Polyester is also nowhere near as flammable as cotton. Some people would have you believe that because polyester is man-made it will sustain fire, but this is not true, and it will only burn the immediate are where the flame has impacted.

 

Polyester is also less prone to tearing than cotton, as it is more elasticised. It also doesn’t wrinkle or crease like cotton.

 

Now then, there are a few disadvantages to polyester too, and the chief one is that it is not as breathable as cotton. Polyester fibre is more solid than cotton, which is great for keeping water off you, but also doesn’t allow much room for moisture to escape from it, so you could end up being rather sweaty.

 

Another disadvantage of 100% polyester workwear is that it is that unlike cotton it is not recyclable, and potentially toxic due to what it’s made from, which leads us to another point. Whilst the price of polyester material is currently fairly low, this is subject to change often as it’s made from oil. If the price of oil goes up, then it’s not just petrol which goes up but anything plastic. This may prove annoying for some folks who place a workwear order, and find it’s become more expensive when they come to order some more later on.

 

So as you can see, there are several good points about polyester, but also some pretty big downfalls. No material is perfect for the job, however the next best thing is what makes up most items of workwear these days, and that’s a poly-cotton mix. Poly-cotton mixes take the plus points from both materials, and blend them together as one to create a near perfect workwear solution.

 

Polyester does have some great purposes, as we outlined, but make sure you pay attention to what your workwear is made from before you make your next order with Brookes.