As the Director of Sales for Ventura, I’ve been meeting with many prospective clients who use flame-resistant (FR uniforms, also known as FRC) shirts, pants, coveralls and other garments.  In speaking with these potential customers, I run into some major confusion in terminology with respect to the type of FR garments their company’s employees actually wear.

One of the biggest misconceptions some people have is that all flame-resistant garments contain NOMEX, or they simply call all FR garments NOMEX out of convenience.  While I can understand the confusion among people who are not familiar with these garments outside of having to wear them, it does become problematic when discussing exactly what a customer wants to order.

NOMEX is a treated, light-weight material made by DuPont for garments with certain, specific flame-resistant characteristics.  FR clothing can also contain 100% cotton, in different weights (usually 7 oz. or 9 oz.), as well as blends of other fabrics.