Overview
ISO 13688:2013 - Protective clothing - General requirements is an ISO reference standard that defines basic performance, design and information requirements for protective clothing. It covers ergonomics, innocuousness (material safety), size designation, ageing (cleaning and dimensional change), compatibility, marking and required manufacturer information. ISO 13688:2013 is intended to be used in combination with product-specific standards (it is not a stand-alone performance standard).
Key topics and technical requirements
- Ergonomics and comfort: garments must be designed to stay in position, allow required movements, avoid exposing body parts during use and provide a level of comfort proportionate to the hazard and duration of use. Annex C gives practical ergonomic checks.
- Innocuousness (material safety): materials shall not release substances known to be toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic, allergenic or otherwise harmful. Specific material checks include chromium(VI) in leather, pH limits and azo-dye restrictions (see normative references).
- Material limits and tests: the standard references test methods such as ISO 17075 (Cr VI in leather), ISO 3071 (textile pH), EN 1811 (nickel release), EN 14362‑1 (restricted aromatic amines) and ISO 5077 (dimensional change).
- Ageing and care: requirements for washing, dry‑cleaning and dimensional change after standardised cleaning cycles; industrial laundering labelling is addressed.
- Size designation and fit: simplified size system and guidance to provide better individual fit (examples in Annex D).
- Marking and information: mandatory general marking, specific markings (including pictograms in Annex E), and comprehensive manufacturer-supplied information (care, limitations, compatibility and warnings). Annex B provides a material acceptability flow chart; Annex F addresses environmental aspects.
- Performance levels: informative Annex A explains how to indicate graded test results.
Applications and who uses it
ISO 13688:2013 is used by:
- Manufacturers and designers of protective clothing to ensure basic safety, fit and labelling practices.
- Product standards committees as the general clause to be referenced by specific protective clothing standards (chemical, thermal, high‑visibility, cut, etc.).
- Testing laboratories performing conformity checks for pH, chromium, nickel release, dimensional change and other referenced tests.
- Procurement teams, safety managers and regulators who need to verify that supplied garments meet baseline ergonomic, hygiene and information requirements.
Practical uses include establishing design briefs, creating care labels for industrial laundering, documenting compatibility in multi‑item ensembles, and supporting risk assessments.
Related standards (examples)
Normative references include: ISO 3071, ISO 3175‑1, ISO 3635, ISO 3758, ISO 4045, ISO 5077, ISO 17075, ISO 30023, EN 1811 and EN 14362‑1. These are commonly called up alongside ISO 13688 when specifying or testing protective clothing.
Keywords: ISO 13688:2013, protective clothing, general requirements, ergonomics, innocuousness, size designation, ageing, marking, compatibility, care labelling, safety standards.
