Medical tunics and work smocks: what to specify before production

Fabric: choose it for the laundering it will face

Tunics and work smocks are often made in polycotton, a blend of polyester and cotton. The fabric should not be chosen on appearance and handle alone. It needs to match the actual care routine:

• industrial laundry or home washing by the wearer;
• washing temperature set by the facility or the laundry;
• drying in a tumble dryer or through a tunnel finisher.

A fabric that suits home washing can shrink, lose its shape or fade under industrial laundry conditions. It is better to raise the question with the fabric supplier before the prototype than after the first delivery.

ISO 15797: the reference for industrial laundering

ISO 15797 (adopted in Europe as EN ISO 15797) is titled "Textiles: Industrial washing and finishing procedures for testing of workwear". It is a test method: it describes procedures that simulate industrial laundering, so that the behaviour of the garment can then be assessed.

In short, it sets out:

• eight washing procedures, with or without bleach; it is not necessary to use all of them;
• washing at 75 °C or 85 °C depending on the load and the type of fibre;
• two drying methods: tumble drying, or tunnel or cabinet finishing.

After these cycles, properties such as dimensional stability, wrinkling, seam puckering and changes in colour and appearance are measured. Since its 2017 revision, its scope is no longer limited to cotton, polyester and their blends.

For a buyer, the useful step is simple: ask the fabric supplier for test results obtained after the ISO 15797 procedures that match the planned care routine, and attach them to the tech pack. The garment factory does not run these tests: it sews from a fabric whose behaviour has been checked upstream.

Seams and finishes: what stands up to the laundry

On a garment washed often and at high temperature, construction choices matter as much as the fabric. The tech pack should specify:

• the seam type for each assembly (single or double topstitch, overlocked seam, felled seam);
• the thread, its composition and colour, suited to the planned washing;
• hem and sleeve finishes: lockstitch hem, chainstitch hem or blind stitch;
• necklines and edges: binding, piping or facing;
• closures: press studs, buttons or zip, with their references;
• pockets: number, position, dimensions, corner reinforcement.

Branding is decided at this stage too. A logo or a department name can be applied by heat transfer or embroidered. In both cases, it is best to check its resistance to industrial laundering on the prototype.

Sizes: a wide range and a clear breakdown

Medical garments are worn by entire teams, with a wide variety of body shapes. The size range is therefore often wider than for other workwear. The tech pack should state:

• the full size range, with a measurement chart per size;
• the planned fits: unisex style, or separate fits;
• the quantity breakdown per size for each order.

A clear breakdown makes it possible to prepare cutting without back and forth and to avoid surplus or missing sizes.

Colours per department and quantities per colour

A facility may assign a colour to each department or role, so that patients and staff can quickly recognise functions. For the factory, each colour is a separate run: separate cutting, a change of thread, separate tracking at inspection and packing.

Before asking for a quotation, it helps to prepare:

• the list of colours, with their shade references;
• the quantity per colour and per size, not only the total for the style;
• the elements shared by all colours: pattern, trims, labels.

Grouping several departments under one colour, or keeping the same trims across all colours, makes small quantities easier to produce.

At Vestra

At Vestra, medical tunics, smocks and aprons run on the small production lines, set up for light items and short runs. Production starts from 200 pieces per style, and small runs are reviewed case by case depending on the number of colours. The factory in Sidi Bou Ali, near Sousse, has among other equipment a piping machine, bottom hemmers in lockstitch and chainstitch, a blind stitch machine and a heat transfer machine; embroidery is handled by partners. Quality control follows 5 stages: materials receipt, inline, end of line, measurement check and packing check, with an AQL level set by the client for each order.

To prepare your run of medical garments, send your tech pack to sales@vestratextile.com.

FAQ

Is ISO 15797 a certification of the garment?

No. It is a test method describing industrial washing and finishing procedures. It is used to assess how a workwear garment behaves after those cycles.

Do a smock and a tunic need different patterns?

Yes, they are two separate styles. Each has its own pattern, size range and sequence of operations, even if they share the same fabric.

Does an embroidered or heat transfer logo survive industrial laundering?

It depends on the materials used. The safest approach is to test the branding on the prototype, according to the planned care routine.

Vestra Manufacturing, workwear manufacturer in Tunisia →

Sources

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