Work Shorts — Summer Cargo

What Are Work Shorts, and Who Are They For?

Work shorts are corporate lower garments made for teams who work outdoors in hot climates and do not need leg protection. In jobs such as hotel grounds teams, landscaping, open-air warehouses and ports, they noticeably reduce staff's heat load in the summer months.

Mars Wear produces them at its own facility in Zeytinburnu, Istanbul, with a pattern and logo specific to your organisation, from a minimum of 100 pieces; we ship within Türkiye and abroad.

First, the Question: Are Shorts Suitable for Your Work?

The question to answer before buying shorts is not price but suitability. And the answer is not written in law as "shorts are forbidden" — the employer decides on protective equipment based on the risk assessment it carries out under Turkish Occupational Health and Safety Law No. 6331.

In practice, this is the distinction:

Jobs where shorts are not suitable — anywhere the legs need protecting: welding and hot work, chemical and oil splashes, carrying sharp and cutting materials, kneeling work, crawling access, near plant and loads with sharp edges. In these jobs, shorts mean giving up protection for staff's heat comfort.

Jobs where shorts are reasonable — garden and landscape maintenance, hotel outdoor and pool-side service, open-air warehouse and port loading, light carrying and organising, field service in the tourist season.

The decision belongs to your risk assessment; we cannot make it for you. But we can give one clear recommendation: if part of the team goes into risky work, do not issue shorts to the whole team. In a mixed team, the workable solution is to issue shorts by task and give summer work trousers to staff in risky roles.

The Two Unspoken Costs of Shorts

There are two things not taken into account when choosing shorts because they are "cooler":

• Sun exposure. Bare legs take direct sun all day. For field teams, this means gaining heat comfort while increasing skin exposure. For teams working all day in unshaded areas, full-length trousers are often the better choice.
• Abrasion protection. The simplest protection trousers provide is coming between the knee and calf and a rough surface. Shorts do not; scrapes and scratches become more frequent.

We write these two points not to avoid selling shorts, but so that you give them to the right team.

Fabric and Cut

• Fabric — polyester-cotton blend gabardine. A blend dries faster than 100% cotton and keeps its shape longer; for a garment that gets sweaty and dries more than once a day on a summer site, this is decisive.
• Length — above the knee. We shorten or lengthen it to your team's preference; company culture and customer-facing areas vary.
• Waist — a wide elastic waist + belt loops together. Elastic alone slackens under load; loops alone cause discomfort across different sizes. Together, they are the solution that causes the fewest sizing problems in a team of mixed sizes.

Pocket Layout

Our standard layout has 6 pockets: 2 front + 2 flapped side cargo + 2 back.

In shorts, the pocket layout works differently from trousers: the cargo pocket sits higher on the leg, and a full pocket bangs against the leg when walking. That is why we make the pocket shallower and position it higher than on trousers. Teams carrying heavy tools are in the group for whom shorts are not suitable anyway.

Colour Options

Navy, black, anthracite grey and stone beige as standard. For outdoor and tourism businesses, stone beige heats up less in the sun than dark shades.

If you have a corporate colour, our own design team matches the shade to your existing uniform.

If You Need Certified Fabric

Fabric certificates (for example OEKO-TEX Standard 100) are issued for a specific fabric by an accredited body. If your tender or corporate supply specification requires certified fabric, state it at the start of the project: supply is set up accordingly, and we share in writing which certificate applies to which fabric. If there is no certification requirement, we produce with our standard fabric.

Which Organisations Are They For?

• Hotels and tourism businesses — gardens, pool-side and outdoor service teams
• Landscaping and parks companies
• Open-air warehouse and port operations — light loading and organising
• Campsites, marinas and facility operators
• Event and organisation field teams

Complete the Set

• Gabardine 16×12 Summer Work Trousers — for staff in risky roles; produced in the same colour to keep the uniform consistent
• Polo Work Shirt — the top half
• Work Belt — canvas
• Reflective Fluorescent Safety Vest — in outdoor areas with vehicle traffic

For all options, see the summer workwear category.

Logo Application

On shorts, the logo is applied at the side of the leg or the back waist. Because shorts offer less visible surface, the logo is kept smaller than on trousers; our own design team prepares a separate version for this.

For a comparison of methods, see our logo printing and embroidery guide.

Ordering and Production Process

1. Needs discussion — which staff will get shorts, your risk assessment, size breakdown.
2. Design decision — length, colour, number of pockets, waist construction.
3. Sample — pattern and fabric approval with a physical sample.
4. Design approval — the logo position and technique go to cutting with your written approval.
5. Production — standard delivery 15 working days.
6. Shipping — within Türkiye and abroad, delivered to multiple sites.

Our minimum order is 100. For the size breakdown, you can use our workwear size chart guide. For a quote, use our quote form.

Care

• Machine wash at 40 °C, inside out.
• Do not use bleach — it fades the colour.
• Can be ironed at a medium temperature.
• Empty the cargo pockets before washing.

For details, see our workwear care guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is wearing shorts at work forbidden? There is no legal ban by product name. What decides it is the employer's risk assessment: shorts are not suitable for jobs requiring leg protection and can be used for jobs that don't.

We have a mixed team — what should we do? Issue shorts by task. For staff in risky roles, we produce summer trousers in the same colour to keep the uniform consistent.

Elastic or belted waist? Both: a wide elastic waist and belt loops. This is the construction that causes the fewest sizing problems in a team of mixed sizes.

Why isn't the fabric 100% cotton? A blend dries faster and keeps its shape longer. For a garment that gets sweaty and dries more than once a day on a summer site, this matters more than cotton's absorbency.

Can the length be changed? Yes, we shorten or lengthen the standard above-the-knee length to your team's preference.

Do you produce a women's pattern? Yes, women's and men's patterns are developed separately.

What is your minimum order? 100 pieces in total — not per size.

Do you ship abroad? Yes, we ship within Türkiye and abroad.