When choosing clothing for cold-weather layering, insulated clothing will add warmth. And thanks to a new ANSI standard, working people and employers now have a new tool to help sort through the choices in insulated clothing. The American National Standard for Classification of Insulating Apparel Used in Cold Work Environments (ANSO/ISEA 201-2012) creates a new voluntary industry standard that assigns a thermal performance category based on the garment’s insulating value after a set number of cleaning cycles.
Insulating value is expressed in clo. One clo represents the insulation needed to maintain body temperature while seated in a room maintained at 70-degrees Fahrenheit – the equivalent of a business suit.
We welcome this new industry standard for layering and insulated clothing and the information that participating manufacturers will place in garment labels. It will be far more helpful than the typical “degree-designations” that manufacturers now often place on hang tags in an effort to describe the insulating value of garments. The new ANSI/ISEA 201-2012 designation will do a better job of describing a garments insulating value, as well as how that insulation is expected to hold up over time after repeated cleanings.
At Working Person’s Store, we strive to create a working partnership with our customers. Helping our customers make the best work clothing choices for their particular needs is one thing we do to meet that mission, and this new standard provides another tool to help us get that job done.
Look for this new ANSI designation in our product descriptions as they become available from the manufacturers. And in the meantime, get more cold-weather layering tips and insulated clothing tips from OSHA, as well as their Cold Weather Stress Equation card by visiting their website. Click here to read more about the ANSI/ISEA 201-2012 standard and order a copy.
