Reflective wear isn’t only yellow or orange anymore. Today because of modern technology in the manufacturing of active wear that protects and reflects a person at night, any color can be used for this material including black.

The reason why the color of the material is not longer a deciding factor on just how effective reflective active safety gear is anymore is because of the properties incorporated into the material. This is the retro-reflective material that has micro glass beads incorporated into the cloth. The glass beads are now the passive ingredient that provided the safety for the person wearing the active apparel.

In the past what most people think of when the mentioning of reflective safety apparel is similar to what road workers wear. This is the neon and florescence colors of vests that are worn with reflective strips on them. The bright colors reflect the suns light and appear to glow while the strips have prisms in them that reflect any light that hits them to simulate what the micro glass beads do. This type and approach of making apparel is still in use today, but most active people who are cycling or running at night chose to have a more subtle approach to what they chose to wear. 

The need for the bright florescence colors is diminished after the sun goes down because the glow effect is minimized then. While the head lights from vehicles do generate the glow, the glass beads in the retro-reflective material have a greater impact on just how well the person running at night or cycling is seen. 

The actual way the retro-reflective material generates a passive reflective barrier around the wearer of it is simple. When the light from an object, including oncoming vehicles, comes in contact with this material, it penetrates the glass beads. The light is then bounced around in the bead and it then emerges in a parallel but opposite course back to its origin. This reflected light will then be seen by the driver of the vehicle in the shape of the clothing being worn by the pedestrian.

With this passive yet effective technology incorporated into the material being worn, the actual color or design of the safety apparel is not longer limited to the choices of the past because their contribution to just how effective the safety clothing no longer necessary of significant.

This is why the choices of today’s active wear that is made of retro-reflective material can be of any color in the rainbow. This can include florescence colors but also include navy, gray and black. These new styles and colors make it possible for a person to wear them anywhere and at any time. This has made it possible for them not to look out of place while still making them more visible in low and no light environments when a light source comes in contact with the material.