How to Choose the Right Workwear for Your Business

March 16, 2026 · By Andy · Workwear Guides

Last reviewed: 17 August 2026 · Written and reviewed by the Xcel Print & Promotions team

Picking workwear for your team looks simple. Then you open the catalogue. Thousands of garments, from a plain t-shirt to a technical softshell, and suddenly you’re not sure where to start. So before you order anything, work out what your team actually needs. It saves money and it saves you a return.

We’ve been fitting out businesses across Suffolk and beyond for nearly 20 years here at Xceluk. Here’s how we’d go about it.

Start With Your Industry

Ask yourself one thing first: what does your team actually do all day? A warehouse operative and a hotel receptionist want completely different kit. And a bricklayer needs something different again.

Construction and Trades

Working on site or in the trades? You’ll almost certainly need hi-vis-workwear/">hi-vis workwear that meets EN ISO 20471. Think about layering as well. A hi-vis vest over a fleece in winter, a breathable hi-vis polo when it’s warm. Durability counts for more here than just about anywhere, so look for reinforced stitching and hardwearing fabrics like polycotton. Cheap gear falls apart on a building site. It just does.

Healthcare and Hospitality

For care staff, healthcare workers and hospitality teams, it’s all about comfort across a long shift. Tunics and polo shirts in easy-care fabrics that cope with hot washes are the ones to go for. Worth thinking about colour too, whether that’s to match your brand or to tell different roles apart at a glance.

Office and Corporate

Corporate workwear is about looking the part in front of clients. A smart polo, an Oxford shirt, a softshell with a neat embroidered logo, and your team suddenly looks a lot more established. The trick is buying garments that still look good after twenty washes. Cheap corporate wear that pills or fades in a month rather defeats the object.

Outdoor and Landscaping

Here you want waterproofing, wind resistance and breathability. Look for sealed seams and adjustable bits: cuffs, hems, hoods. Layering works a treat outdoors. A base layer, a mid-layer fleece and a waterproof shell over the top lets your team adjust as the day goes from frosty morning to sunny afternoon.

Understanding Fabrics

The fabric changes everything: how comfy the garment is, how long it lasts, and how well it takes a logo.

100% Cotton, Breathable and soft against the skin. Great for warmer jobs. Tends to shrink a touch on the first wash, so size up.
Polycotton (65/35 or 50/50), The workhorse. Cotton comfort, polyester toughness. Resists creasing and holds its colour through wash after wash.
100% Polyester, Brilliant for wicking sweat and drying fast. You’ll see it on sports-style polos and softshells. Takes print really well.
Softshell, A bonded fabric that blocks wind, shrugs off light rain and has a bit of stretch. Spot on for outdoor workers who need to move without lugging a full waterproof about.

Getting the Sizing Right

Here’s the mistake we see most: ordering in bulk without checking the fit first. Sizing wanders all over the place between brands. A medium in Fruit of the Loom won’t fit the same as a medium in Uneek or Regatta. Not even close, sometimes.

Our advice? Get a size set of your chosen garment before you commit to the big order. We’ll sort that for you, and it saves the faff and cost of sending stuff back. Ordering for a mixed team? Plenty of brands now do proper female-fit options that are actually shaped, not just men’s sizes made smaller.

Branding Your Workwear

Garment sorted. Now the branding. This is where workwear starts earning its keep. Every time your team’s out on a job or stood in front of a customer, they’re advertising you.

You’ve got two main routes, embroidery and printing, and they each do a job:

Embroidery, Premium look, premium feel. Tough as anything, it usually outlasts the garment. Ideal for logos on polos, fleeces, softshells and jackets. Works on nearly any fabric.
Printing, The one for bigger designs, full-colour graphics and anything text-heavy. Cost-effective once you’re into larger quantities. Different techniques to suit the garment and the artwork.

Not sure which way to go? We send free digital proofs, so you’ll see exactly how your logo lands before we run a single stitch. Have a look at our customisation and pricing page for the detail.

How Many Garments Do You Need?

Work out how many sets each person needs. For mucky roles where kit gets filthy fast, two or three sets each makes sense. Office-based staff who wear it less often can get away with one or two.

And don’t forget new starters. It pays to keep a small buffer of the popular sizes. We do no minimum order quantities, so you can top up with a single item whenever you need to.

Budget Considerations

Workwear doesn’t need to be pricey to look the part. A well-chosen polo with a tidy embroidered logo can hold its own against a premium brand. It’s about matching the garment to the job it has to do.

That said, spend a bit more on outerwear that has to face proper weather. A cheap waterproof that leaks after a week is a false economy every time. Put your money where it counts and save on the stuff that doesn’t need to be top of the range.

The Ordering Process

We’ve kept ordering about as painless as it gets:

Browse our online shop of over 8,000 products
Choose your garments and quantities
Send us your logo or artwork
We create a free digital proof for your approval
Once approved, we embroider or print your garments
Free delivery on orders over £99+VAT

We’re based in Haverhill, Suffolk, so local customers can also pop in for a face-to-face chat and grab same-day collection.

Ready to Get Started?

One embroidered polo or a full uniform programme for 500 staff, either way we’re here for it. Nearly 20 years at this, no minimum order, free digital proofs. Getting your team looking the part really isn’t complicated.

Call us on 01440 712290 or get in touch online to talk it through. We’d be glad to help.

Written by Andy · Founder, Xcel Print & Promotions

Xcel Print & Promotions is a family-run UK workwear, branded-clothing and print company with over 20 years' experience. We embroider and print in-house from our base in Haverhill, Suffolk, with no minimum order, so this advice comes from kitting out real teams every working day, from single tradespeople to large sites and schools.

Talk to us about your workwear or print project →