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In some areas emergency communications support workers have a work uniform colour of green. This suggests a few sources of trousers, etc.
In lieu of a full uniform some groups may issue a white polo shirt, perhaps with a green and white stiltoe tartan or Batenberg pattern. Yellow-green high-visibility shirts or vests may also be in use. Bottoms are left up to the wearer.
Wearing things like orange trousers implies SES membership to many. Marine agencies may wear blue, and St John's wear black. Meanwhile, jeans may not be comfortable in warmer weather, and may lack professionalism. Thus, one good option is green trousers.
Most notable are those used by the NHS Ambulance services in Britain. These “ambulance trousers” are available on ebay.co.uk for under £10, with shipping a similar price. I bought mine from the seller “mtandme”. Sizing is in inches, but is a little smaller than US products such as 5.11 and Propper (buy the next size up than you would for the US ones). There are brighter and duller versions, with the brighter being closer to the print on the shirts. The first pair I bought was true “bottle green”, although the larger one ordered later came in a spruce, or similar colour, somewhat duller. Kelly green may be slightly brighter. I did have to carefully iron inside the front pockets to ensure the white lining was not visible. Various sellers have women's versions.
These, and most others discussed typically accommodate a belt up to 1.5" or 38 mm. Those sold as "scrubs" use a drawstring instead, so may be less suitable.
Sample eBay listings: Male - ORN CONDOR COMBAT TROUSER / WORK and LADIES ACTION WORK TROUSER NAVY OR BOTTLE GREEN AMBULANCE PARAMEDIC - Female
Some listings may be a single item, others a full commercial listing.
Army and Work Wear is another seller, both on and off eBay. Buying directly from such smaller sellers avoids the unAustralian GST on eBay purchases (aka the "Harvey Norman tax").
Two examples are Male - Super Click Workwear Drivers Trousers in (Dark) Bottle Green, and Male - L701 Portwest Lightweight Combat Trousers - "Teal". They also have traffic and work trousers in yellow, a hi-viz colour I've also seen referred to as "Saturn Yellow". Another offering is water resistant over-trousers, for males and females.
Uniforms 4 Healthcare has Female - Ambulance Combat Trousers - Bottle green & Dark Green
Rig Equipment sells Male / Unisex - G7 Medical Responder Trousers
Frontline Kit UK have Men's Ambulance/Paramedic Bottle Green Combat Trousers.
Polyester-cotton blends, aka Polycotton have good strength, and can be improved by a "ripstop" weave, where a variation in the thread thickness, etc is made every 7 mm or so.
Reflective strips are useful in places like poorly lit carparks.
Flame retardant Proban treated cotton, and cut resistant "ballistic nylon" are also options. "Combat" and "Cargo" styles include extra pockets.
Similar to a Paramedic in some coutries is the EMT, or Emergency Medical Technician. They may work for a Fire Department or an "Emergency Medical Service" (EMS). TEMS is Tactical Emergency Medical Services. The latter do things like going into Active Shooter scenes, and may be doctors or paramedics, etc.
This thus gives us more search terms, and suitable products.
5.11 and Propper are US brands, although their offerings are Olive, and the similar TDU Green. Propper also sell trousers in the darker Ranger. Note that in the US khaki is a much lighter, beige colour, while British khaki is a mud colour. Most products come with a range of inside leg sizes, although those with the larger waist sizes may be sold with long, unseamed legs, typically 37”. There are multiple 5.11 retailers here, both run by the company (at Bankstown), and third parties. They also have “Tactical” jeans, with useful extra pockets; and various nylon belts.
5.11's retail store is in (south) Bankstown, at 2/165 Canterbury Rd. Several bus routes pass by, or nearby. It is not far from the short-lived maga Dick Smith Electronics House building, which may still have antennas up.
The company sells Quantum TEMS Trousers for males and females in a colour termed EMS GReen or PSNI Green. Unfortunatly there are only shipped from their EU sites to selected areas of Europe in this colour.
Thankfully, they are sold by third party sellers, who will at least quote for shipping to Australia.
Medtree sells the Male and Female options.
DS Medical has Male only.
For those who prefer shorts, both the UK ambulance-style products, and the US brands above have these options.
Locally, Prime Mover MW705 is a trouser with 50 mm silver reflective tape. These are sold by Office National, a series of franchised retailers. See: Prime Mover MW705. Other sellers have them too.
Workwear Faactory has Male - DNC trousers.
King Gee also sell green cotton work trousers locally.
Lowes have "Emerald" pants on their site (online only), which may be suitable for office environments.
RS Components sells both DNC Unisex Trousers, at around $50, and Muzelle Dulac's "New Pilote" Men's Shrink Resistant Cotton ones, at just over $50. I have the latter in a cobalt blue, and they are comfortable.
Mainly for pilots, Sisley in Maryland (Newcastle, NSW) makes trousers in Nomex, an inherently flame retardant fabric, with "Medical green" being the idea colour. "Freedom green" is olive. Several medical green sample products are available via their eBay store. They also have clearance priced stock of natural / white Nomex underwear, suitable for colder weather, and Nomex socks.
Other sellers occasionally have bargains on green Nomex trousers, including those designed for the USDA's Forestry Service.
Tactical Gear sell 5.11 and other trousers, and may offer a discount if you contact them usign your official email address See: tacticalgear.com.au
Various skirts, utility kilts, and lava-lavas are also available in green.
A little off-topic, PM Workwear has Denim pants with reflective tape, and Sandy-coloured cargo pants with tape.
Written by Julian Sortland, VK2YJS & AG6LE, January 2024.
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