Another update on the colour changes being made to HipSaver SoftSweats – the manufacturer has notified us that Khaki will be phased out so we will not be ordering this colour any longer. If you wish to place an order and have your heart set on Khaki we will ask the plant if they can accommodate this with the material they have left but no guarantees.
On the plus side, a new colour is always fun and as previously revealed, the new addition to the HipSaver SoftSweat family is Forest Green. We are just in the process of ordering in a bit of stock in that colour so feel free to order away!
A note to those who ask if the burgundy colour represented in the HipSaver SoftSweat images on the website is available. The answer is no – that is one of the original colour choices going back many years and has long been discontinued, however the manufacturer hasn’t provided up to date images of the current colour selection. If that ever happens, we’ll post them for you.
The colour choices available for SoftSweat and SoftSweat Shorts are as follows:
Navy, Grey, Forest Green
I am really disappointed the khaki is gone. No one in our facility cares about the grey nor the new green. Black, tan and navy are the most common request. Ever consider black?
Thank you for taking the time to ask your question, Christine. The khaki was not a big seller internationally so the manufacturer chose to discontinue it rather than purchase another bolt of fabric that was going to hang around for a long time. We still have a few bits and pieces of SoftSweats in khaki – call our office and they can give you the rundown. I believe most of what we have left has knee pads or tailbone padding. As to the black, we get asked for that all the time. So does the manufacturer, so a couple of years ago they produced several units and took them to a long term care facility that had previously requested black fabric. It didn’t take the facility long to realize that they didn’t really want the black. It shows ever hair, bit of dust, spot of food or drool and just always looked messy. The families were concerned because their loved ones always looked like their clothes needed to be changed. There is value in using fabric colours that can help people look their best and, of course, that’s what we want to do.
I have been fitting/”selling” hip protectors to residents since the falls prevention move began several years back now and have heard over and over again the request from family members of residents (particularly ladies) and staff members “why don’t they come in black” and from a number of residents (ladies) that they would buy more if they came in black. As the ladies are much harder to sell on wearing them as they are more concerned about their appearance and also seem to have more incidences of broken hips when they do fall (frail) I would think that it would make sense to provide them in a colour that will make them more attractive to the user and therefore more likely to be worn/purchased. I also agree that the sage/khaki looked more attractive for the ladies and more like slacks and I haven’t found anyone interested in the forest Green. theres have been dozens of comments at my facility alone and I know that RA’s at other facilities near me have had the same experience. Is there another forum to recommend the change in colour to the manufacturer?
Hi Trina, Thank you for your comments. I have posted before about the manufacturer’s experience with black but I think it’s important to repeat. They got a lot of requests similar to yours about the desire for black SoftSweats so they did a trial run with a facility near the plant that had been one of those requesting black. In very short order they understood why black was not the best colour – it shows every little spill, bit of food or dust and the residents decided that they would get longer wear out of other colours. When this information was relayed to the plant, it reenforced what their thinking had been. Your idea of a darker grey is certainly one that I will pass along to the plant and we’ll see where it goes! Thank you for taking the time to comment. I truly appreciate it.
Or perhaps a dark charcoal grey? The light Grey show everything too.