The right PPE for gardening and landscaping

As a gardener and landscaper, you are faced with a wide range of demanding tasks every day: Whether pruning trees in the forest, paving work on uneven ground or working in unpredictable weather – your job not only requires physical exertion, but also involves numerous risks. Maybe you know the feeling when a sudden change in the weather makes your work more difficult or the ground becomes unexpectedly slippery. These situations require not only your skills, but also the right Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to work safely and effectively.

At uvex, we understand the dangers you face in your day-to-day work and how crucial it is to protect yourself with the appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE). Let’s work together to keep you safe and productive, no matter what challenges you face.

Your safety in landscaping and gardening requires more than just wearing the right PPE. Before you start your work, it is important to carry out a regular risk assessment. This allows you to identify the potential risks at an early stage and take appropriate protective measures. Employers are obliged to provide you with the necessary personal protective equipment free of charge.

In addition, regular training is crucial for all employees. They will sensitize you to the specific hazards in your work area and teach you the correct use and care of PPE. In this way, you actively contribute to your own safety and that of your colleagues.

Your working environment in gardening and landscaping places high demands on your equipment. Whether you’re working with sharp or pointed objects, surrounded by machine noise, or operating outdoors in extreme weather conditions, the right PPE is crucial to protect yourself from the many risks. In addition, your working conditions often change: uneven ground conditions, sudden winds or surrounding trees can quickly become a danger.

In the following section, you will find a comprehensive overview of the different PPE solutions from uvex – tailored to the challenges you face every day.

Rain, slippery floors and unpredictable weather conditions accompany your everyday work in gardening and landscaping and entail enormous risks. How many times have you done paving work on muddy soil or sloping terrain and noticed how difficult it is to stand safely on smooth surfaces? In such situations, all it takes is a little carelessness and your foot will slip, your balance will falter and you will suffer sprains, bruises or torn ligaments. What is particularly dangerous is that your feet have to cope with constantly changing surfaces, which puts them under a lot of stress and makes them particularly vulnerable. Your feet cool down quickly, reduce your ability to react and increase your risk of accidents.

With the uvex 3 lace-up boots S3 SRC, you get a firm footing on any unevenness:

• Water-repellent leather surface: The surface protects your feet from penetrating moisture, even in heavy rain or snow.
• Extra Ankle Protection: This protection ensures your stability and prevents you from twisting your ankle if the ground is uneven.
• Ergonomic outsole with optimal slip resistance: Thanks to this sole, you will be able to stand firmly on slippery, smooth surfaces, even when lifting heavy loads or working on steep slopes.

Your feet aren’t the only parts of your body that are subjected to a lot of stress during work. Especially during intensive activities such as laying paving stones or digging trenches, your knees are exposed to enormous stresses. Constantly kneeling on hard, unyielding surfaces puts a strain on your joints and quickly leads to pain and possibly long-term damage if proper protective measures are not taken.

Protect your knees during heavy physical work!

– Knee pads made of abrasion-resistant material: These pads provide essential protection for your knees, reduce pressure points and prevent wear and tear on the high-wear areas of your pants.

Standing on the construction site in the cold early in the morning or working outside on stormy autumn days, it quickly becomes clear how important a reliable jacket is. The cold creeps through your clothes, the wind feels uncomfortable, and the rain makes everything heavy and tedious. In such moments, you need workwear that keeps you warm and protects against wind and moisture. However, do you want your freedom of movement to be completely retained?

uvex workwear such as the uvex suXXeed craft collection is made for these challenges:

• Elastic inserts: These allow you to move freely, whether it’s lifting, bending over or working in confined spaces.
• Durable, water-repellent and windproof outer fabrics: This gives you reliable protection from moisture and wind, so you can concentrate on your work, no matter how adverse the conditions.
• Excellent Thermal Insulation: The inner lining keeps you warm even when the temperatures drop without you breaking a sweat.
• Breathable membranes: These ensure that moisture is wicked away to the outside, so you stay dry even during intense physical work.
• Reflective strips: These will keep you visible even in low light conditions, which is especially important if you’re working at dusk or near roads.

After spending the morning in the cold and wet, the working day can suddenly turn hot when the sun breaks through. Have you ever worked all day under the blazing sun and noticed a painful sunburn at the end of the day? Especially in the summer months, the risk of sunburn and long-term skin damage increases considerably. As you dig, plant or mow outdoors all day, you feel the sun burning mercilessly on your skin. Without the right protection, you risk not only short-term burns, but also serious long-term damage from UV rays.

Professional workwear from uvex provides the optimum protection for this:

• Effective UV protection: The clothing blocks the harmful UV rays and reliably protects your skin from sunburn and long-term damage.
• High-quality, moisture-wicking fabrics: These fabrics keep you dry and comfortable even on hot days by effectively wicking away sweat.
• Durable materials: The fabrics retain their protective effect and shape even after frequent washing, so you can benefit from the clothes for a long time.
• Easy to care for and durable: In addition to being protective, these clothes are easy to care for, so you can wear them day after day without losing comfort or safety.

Anyone who works in gardening and landscaping knows the problem: you are cutting branches in thorny shrubs, and suddenly sharp thorns penetrate your gloves and injure your skin. Have you ever experienced how painful such injuries can be? On the one hand, such wounds interfere with your work, and on the other hand, they also increase the risk of infections, as dirt and bacteria can get into your wounds. To protect your hands from these hazards and work safely, robust work gloves are essential.

With the HexArmor ThornArmor 3092 gloves, you’ll be well equipped thanks to their well-thought-out protection and comfort features – you can find the exact details in our detailed product description. Here are some of the special features of the protective glove:

• Cut protection level F: Your hands remain reliably protected from sharp objects, while the gloves offer exceptional durability.
• Three-layer SuperFabric® material on the palm: This material protects you from pinpricks and cuts through a special arrangement of tiny protective tiles.
• Reinforced Index Finger Protection: The reinforced protection expands the puncture-resistant area and provides extra protection for your fingers.

However, the protection doesn’t end with your hands. Imagine you’re working in a dense forest or park and need to remove old, overhanging branches. With such tasks, there is always a risk that branches will suddenly break off and fall down on you. In such moments, a fraction of a second can make or break your safety. A safety helmet is therefore essential to protect yourself from serious injuries.

uvex safety helmets are ideal for working in forests, parks and other green spaces to protect you from falling branches or similar hazards.

The uvex pheos forestry forest worker set has the following key features:

• Helmet made of robust ABS material: Provides excellent protection against falling branches and flying parts.
• Fully integrated metal mesh visor: Protects your face and eyes while keeping you clear vision.
• Integrated hearing protection (SNR: 30 dB): Effectively protects against noise, such as that of chainsaws, and ensures safe hearing protection.

When using chainsaws, especially near busy roads, you face a double challenge: noise is annoying and endangers your health. The noise level can often exceed 85 dB(A) – above this value, hearing protection is required by law to shield your ears from the noise. At the same time, you need to be able to hear important ambient sounds, such as beeps from emergency vehicles or warning calls, at all times. These sounds are vital so that you can always react safely and quickly to dangers. Without the right hearing protection, you risk both your health and your safety.

In situations like these, uvex earplugs or capsules are the ideal solution.

If you want to know which hearing protection is best for your specific needs and how to find the optimal protection, you can find out more in our blog post “Earmuffs or earplugs? Ultimate hearing protection for everyone.”

Active electronic hearing protection capsules such as the uvex aXess one with RAL function (Real-Active-Listening) help with teamwork in large gardens or parks, where problem-free communication is required. If you need special protection and comfort, use uvex otoplastics. These are individually adapted and are made of skin-friendly silicone material, which ensures optimal noise insulation and a perfect fit.

In gardening and landscaping, it often happens that you have to cut down trees or saw thick branches. During such work, the chainsaw releases large amounts of dust, wood chips and splinters. These particles can get right into your eyes, causing pain and obstructing your vision. Without a clear view, your work will be dangerous, as you could lose control of the saw and your surroundings. The safety goggles from uvex guarantee you reliable protection and many other advantages in such situations:

• Effective protection against mechanical hazards: The glasses reliably protect your eyes from flying particles such as dust, chips and splinters.
• UV400 protection: Your eyes are not only protected from the mechanical dangers but also from harmful UV radiation.
• Anti-fog and scratch-resistant lenses: These features ensure that your vision remains clear at all times, even during intensive activities.

If you wear regular prescription glasses, they don’t fully protect your eyes from particles or chemicals that can penetrate laterally. uvex overspecs offer the necessary all-round protection and sit comfortably over your normal glasses. Alternatively, you can have uvex safety glasses made in your prescription so that your eyes remain safe and your vision clear without compromising comfort.

when cutting stone or concrete, as well as when tilling soil with heavy machinery where dust, smoke or other pollutants are released into the air. The respirators from uvex provide you with the necessary protection.

uvex has developed a wide range of PPE that meets the highest safety standards especially for the challenges in gardening and landscaping. At the GaLaBau trade fair in Nuremberg on 14 September 2024, you can see the quality and variety of our products for yourself. You will have the opportunity to view our PPE on site, try it on and get advice from our experts. We present our latest innovations and support you in choosing the optimal protective equipment. Invest in high-quality PPE to protect your safety and health in the long term, and let uvex be your reliable partner for safety in gardening and landscaping.