The sight of landscapers wearing long-sleeved shirts in the intense summer sun often seems contradictory. While many assume more fabric leads to overheating, this practice is a calculated strategy rooted in health and safety. Covering up acts as a multilayered form of personal protective equipment, offering defenses against invisible radiation, physical dangers, and helping the body manage heat through thermoregulation.
Protecting Skin from UV Radiation
Prolonged occupational sun exposure is one of the most serious health hazards for outdoor workers, significantly increasing the lifetime risk of skin cancer. Landscaping professionals face a risk of developing skin cancer that is estimated to be 2.5 to 3.5 times greater than that of indoor workers. This heightened danger comes from exposure to both ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) radiation, which can penetrate and damage skin cell structure.
Long sleeves act as a physical shield, providing a consistent barrier against these harmful rays that sunscreen alone cannot match. Modern work shirts often carry an Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF) rating, which measures the amount of UV radiation the fabric blocks. For example, a shirt rated UPF 50 blocks 98 percent of the sun’s ultraviolet rays. Choosing a certified long-sleeved garment provides continuous, reliable protection that does not require reapplication, unlike topical sunscreens.
Preventing Physical Injuries and Irritants
Beyond solar radiation, the landscaping environment presents constant physical threats that necessitate protective clothing. The work involves frequent interaction with sharp or abrasive materials, such as thorny bushes, rough tree bark, and fast-moving debris ejected by power tools. A long-sleeved shirt provides a durable layer of skin protection against minor cuts, scratches, and abrasions common in the profession.
This layer also serves as a barrier against biological and chemical irritants encountered daily. Covering the arms reduces the risk of insect bites from mosquitoes, spiders, and ticks, which can transmit serious diseases. The sleeves also prevent direct skin contact with irritating plants like poison ivy or poison sumac. Finally, long sleeves mitigate exposure to splashes from chemicals, including herbicides, pesticides, and fuels used to power equipment.
How Long Sleeves Aid in Cooling
Counterintuitively, wearing long sleeves in hot weather can contribute to a cooler body temperature through evaporative cooling. The body’s primary defense against heat is sweating, where the transition of liquid sweat to water vapor absorbs heat. When exposed to direct sun and dry heat, sweat evaporates almost instantly, providing little sustained cooling and leading to rapid dehydration.
Technical long-sleeved shirts are constructed from lightweight, synthetic, or specially woven fabrics that manage this process efficiently. These moisture-wicking materials use capillary action to draw sweat away from the skin and spread it across the fabric’s outer surface. This allows the sweat to evaporate more slowly and consistently, prolonging the cooling effect. By shading the skin and facilitating controlled evaporation, the long sleeves help maintain a stable microclimate next to the body.