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Summers are getting hotter everywhere ... To combat the growing health risks for outdoor workers ... scientists and designers are developing a slate of new fabrics to counteract extreme heat. But worker-safety specialists and labor advocates are concerned that commercializing wearable technologies — even with the best of intentions — may end up aggravating existing issues with worker exploitation.

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Special textiles exist already to help cool a wearer by scattering direct sunlight away from the body or by emitting infrared radiation — which would be handy when you’re out on a hike or, say, working in a backyard garden. A legion of U.S. apparel companies manufacture clothing that helps mitigate the heat from direct sunlight, but those fabrics aren’t designed to offset the oppressive heat that gets trapped in cityscapes. In a city, the built environment radiates heat from below, too, presenting an additional engineering challenge. 

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But, as with any new product created to counteract extreme heat and other climate impacts, there’s the possibility of exploitation, says Dominique O’Connor, who works at the Farmworker Association of Florida. The growers and contractors in charge of farms, for example, “might feel that they can push [workers] even harder or have less need for giving them breaks or water.” 

Any heat-resistant clothing adopted by outdoor workers at the behest of their employer could also end up being a financial burden if they’re expected to pay for it, according to O’Connor. Another concern is the question of garment care, as she doesn’t expect employers will offer laundering services for designated work clothes — she points out many already don’t offer enough bathroom facilities or breaks — meaning workers themselves will have to pay for multiple shirts, or otherwise be stuck cleaning the same item after every shift ...

Some labor groups say that while such materials and fabrics may be able to play a role in mitigating individual impacts of heat, such surface-level solutions shouldn’t be substituted for policy interventions that target the core problem: a lack of protections for workers from heat stress.

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Though the textile that specifically targets the urban heat island effect is not on the market yet, other heat-repelling fabrics are. O’Connor’s team in Apopka, Florida, is considering whether to move forward with investing in clothing already on the market to freely distribute to the farmworkers they serve. The shirts, from an apparel company called Fieldsheer, are made with a brand of technology intended to mitigate a wearer’s body heat. 

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Patrick Deighan, a spokesperson at Fieldsheer, told Grist that their fabrics, made from a blend of recycled polyester and spandex and “infused with minerals,” effectively “pull moisture and heat from the skin and use the body’s heat to evaporate at a faster rate, enhancing the evaporative cooling effect, leading to enhanced comfort and performance.” He noted that the line of shirts are designed to be used in multiple environments, including outdoors and indoors, and on the job, but didn’t comment on the concerns raised by Economos and other labor advocates. 

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