IN MONEY Walmart uniforms get a makeover
New vests have accent colors, bigger pockets.
If you’ve been to Walmart, you’ve seen them: the brand’s familiar blue vests with the yellow trim and Walmart logo that employees have donned for years. Now they’re being replaced by grey vests weaved from recycled plastic bottles.
The retail giant announced the upcycled vest upgrade on Wednesday in a news release. Walmart says that the new vests will be trimmed in eyecatching shades of hot pink, green, blue and orange.
The pockets are getting larger so associates can carry more equipment on the floor, and each vest is getting a large logo on the back so shoppers can easily identify who works at the store.
“Our vests just got an upgrade, so associates can live their vest lives at work,” Walmart said in a tweet. “Coming to stores later this year.”
“Bringing your true self to work means bringing your own style, so later this year, there will be lots of options for associates to customize their looks,” the company said in a statement. “Uniforms are important, but looking exactly like everyone else isn’t. We all want to be able to express who we are, and the new Walmart vest will allow associates to do just that.”
The new choices will cost up to $11 per vest, Walmart said, and more than a million associates will receive one for free.
The retailer began raising its starting hourly wage from $9 to $11 in 2018.
The move to a new vest comes after Walmart announced a more casual dress code last year in an effort to make workers more comfortable. The grocery store chain began allowing associates to wear jeans, shirts of any color and sneakers.
Still banned: leggings, yoga pants, wind suits, sweatpants, scrubs, overalls and “overly long pant legs that drag on the floor.”