Revised High-Visibility Apparel Standard Widens Sizing Allowance for Smaller Workers
Manufacturers face updated lab test methods and documentation rules, while garment types, performance classes and the three fluorescent background colors stay the same.
- By Danielle Naidu
- Oct 28, 2026
Workers with smaller builds are one focus of ANSI/ISEA 107-2026, the updated American National Standard for High-Visibility Safety Apparel. The International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA) announced the new edition Oct. 26 and said its changes are meant in part to help garments fit those workers better.
Under the earlier edition, manufacturers could use less fluorescent background material only on the smallest size they offered. ANSI/ISEA 107-2026 extends that reduced-material allowance to smaller sizes up through Medium for Type R Performance Class 2 and Class 3 garments.
A garment that is too large can catch on equipment, restrict how a worker moves or let reflective material shift from where it is meant to sit, ISEA said. The association said the revised sizing provisions give manufacturers more leeway to make garments sized to fit smaller workers that still meet the visibility requirements in the standard.
Lab test references for colorfastness, tear strength, reflectivity and other properties now point to current AATCC, ASTM and ISO methods. ISEA said the performance thresholds behind those tests mostly stay the same. For flame-resistant apparel, updated references include NFPA 1950-2025 and NFPA 2112-2023.
Garments meeting the earlier edition are not suddenly obsolete because of the update, ISEA said. Products tested to either edition and labeled to it are expected to exist side by side for a transition period after publication. The standard is available from ISEA.
About the Author
Danielle Naidu is assistant editor for Occupational Health & Safety and Environmental Protection Online.