If you’ve compared different swim vest brands, you may have noticed something confusing.
Some products use blue or green as their main color and still carry EN 13138 certification.
Yet other manufacturers recommend avoiding these colors altogether.
So who’s right?
The answer is more nuanced than many buyers expect.
Color Visibility Is Part of EN 13138
EN 13138 is not only about buoyancy.
The standard also considers how visible a swimming aid is under different conditions.
Highly visible colors can make it easier to locate a child in the water, especially in an emergency.
Because of this, color visibility is one factor considered during product evaluation.
It’s Not a Machine Test
Many people assume a color is measured by an instrument.
It isn’t.
For visibility assessment, the product is placed on a standardized multi-colored background, and a panel of assessors visually evaluates whether it stands out sufficiently.
Typically, three trained assessors participate in the evaluation, and the final result is based on the majority opinion.
That means the assessment is based on human judgment rather than an automated pass-or-fail measurement.
Why Results Can Be Different
Because the evaluation is subjective, outcomes can vary.
For example:
- Different laboratories may have different assessment panels.
- Even the same laboratory may have different assessors on another day.
- Individual judgment may differ slightly when evaluating color contrast.
This explains why one brand may successfully certify a particular blue design while another receives a recommendation to change it.
Why We Recommend Avoiding Certain Colors
Customers sometimes ask:
“If another brand can use blue, why can’t we?”
In reality, they may be able to.
But there is a higher level of uncertainty.
Based on guidance from our laboratory partners, colors such as blue or green generally present a higher visibility risk when used as the dominant color of the product.
The recommendation is intended to improve the likelihood of passing the assessment on the first submission.
Passing the First Test Saves Time and Cost
A failed visibility assessment doesn’t necessarily mean the product is unsafe.
It may simply mean the color combination did not achieve sufficient visual contrast during evaluation.
If that happens, brands usually need to modify the design and submit another sample for testing.
That means:
- Additional sample production
- Additional laboratory fees
- Extra development time
- Delayed product launch
For most brands, avoiding unnecessary re-testing is the better investment.
Factory Insight
When we review artwork before sampling, we don’t simply ask whether a color looks attractive.
We also consider how likely it is to pass laboratory evaluation.
If a color combination carries a higher testing risk, we’ll point it out before production begins.
Our goal isn’t to limit your creativity.
It’s to help you reduce development costs, avoid unnecessary re-tests, and improve the chances of passing the first time.
Final Thoughts
Can blue or green swim vests pass EN 13138 testing?
It depends.
However, we generally recommend avoiding blue or green as the dominant color of the product. Using these colors as accents or in smaller areas usually presents a lower visibility risk.
It’s also important to understand that the visibility assessment is subjective. The result depends on the evaluation panel at the testing laboratory. Different laboratories—or even different assessors within the same laboratory—may reach slightly different conclusions when evaluating the same color combination.
For brands developing products for the European market, choosing highly visible primary colors and considering visibility early in the design process can help reduce the risk of re-testing, saving both time and development costs.
Need help reviewing your design before testing?
We can review your artwork before sampling and highlight any potential visibility concerns based on our experience working with EN 13138 laboratory requirements.