Posts filed under 'winter wear'
Well, sometimes they become ‘vintage’ or ‘collectable’ (1970s McDonalds workwear is selling for a goodly price on eBay) and sometimes it just gets dumped in rubbish bins or charity shops, but Festival Place shopping centre in Basingstoke has something else in mind. Their old uniforms are to be recycled. More than 600 items, including:
- 350 shirts
- 140 pairs of trousers
- 50 jumpers and cardigans
- 20 Hi-Viz coats
- 30 Hi-Viz waistcoats
- 30 ties
- 60 fleeces
- 20 blazers
- and four suits, have been collected.
They will all be sent to Devizes Textile which will sort through the items, sending the best quality clothing to Africa to be reworn, and recycling the rest into items for industrial use. Danny Williamson, company partner at Devizes Textiles, was equally happy to help. He said, ‘This is the first shopping centre that we have worked with and we look forward to working with them in the future to help reduce Basingstoke’s landfill.’
Workwear, and work colleague, photograph courtesy of Robstephaustralia
April 23rd, 2008
Areas of the UK have recently experienced the worst effects of winter and it seems there may be more to come. Employers who have staff working outdoors, and the emergency services in particular, work with Health and Safety organisations to ensure their employees are safe – so what do they do to protect themselves and what can the rest of us learn from this? First, anybody working outside especially in trades like construction, commercial fishing, delivery work and agriculture is vulnerable. Exposure to freezing and cold temperatures for extended periods of time can in rare circumstances lead to real health problems such as hypothermia and cold water submersion can easily result in death. Danger signs include uncontrolled shivering, slurred speech, clumsy movements, fatigue and confused behaviour. If these signs are observed, call immediately for emergency help.
To prevent things getting to this stage:
- Consider whether environmental and workplace conditions may be dangerous and change work schedules to ensure work is done in the warmest part of the day (midday onwards until dusk)
- Encourage employees to wear proper clothing for cold, wet and windy conditions, including layers that can be adjusted to changing conditions, and high visibility clothing so that they can be spotted if they suffer injury.
- Ensure that employees in extremely cold conditions take frequent, short breaks in warm dry shelters to allow their bodies to warm up.
- Use the buddy system, making sure staff work in pairs so that one employee can ensure the other is safe
- Provide warm, sweet beverages (sugar water, sports-type drinks) and avoid drinks with caffeine (coffee, tea, sodas or hot chocolate) or alcohol. Make sure there are warm, high-calorie foods such as hot pasta dishes on offer for lunch breaks etc.
Glasgow snow by moron noodle
January 10th, 2008
More than 20,000 winter sports enthusiasts recently attended a British ski and snow-boarding show in Birmingham – and nearly one and a half million Britons are taking part in some kind of winter sports every year. That number continues to rise year on year, even though we have less snow than ever before!
Despite its dangerous image and the somewhat Teutonic ‘tall white male’ image the slopes still have for many of us, skiing is now a sport available to almost anyone interested in outdoor winter activities. But it’s important to bear safety in mind and to wear adequate clothing. In particular it’s true that many women are having trouble getting ski clothing for their sizes, and there’s a big surge in sales on the protective side of clothing, as skiers are increasingly aware of being safety conscious on the slopes because they don’t want to have their holiday cut short by injuries. Remember that high visibility can be important in bad weather.
For any kind of outdoor sport you need to dress in layers with clothes designed specifically for winter sports and outdoor work which keep you dry and warm at the same time. They also carry sweat away from your inner layer of clothing which is important to stop chafing and to ensure your body temperature doesn’t drop when you cease to exercise. You definitely must invest in good gloves or mitts, a warm hat and a scarf. Beware of hypothermia - if you’re feeling cold head indoors and warm up.
Before you hit a snow slope you need to be familiar with your equipment, to be able to walk up the hill sideways and you need to be able to stop – which is the whole point of training on an artificial slope before hitting the snow for real.
ski line photograph by kalevkevad, used under a creative commons attribution licence
December 6th, 2007
