Summary

White singlet with blue stains worn by a worker at Pigment Manufacturers of Australia in Laverton, Melbourne, between 1961 and 1990,

Workers were issued with clothing worn in the plant. Each item was marked with the worker's initials and reference number.

"Pigments by their nature have slightly greasy surfaces and they are very fine powdery substances, so therefore tend to stick to the skin. People who were exposed even to quite small amounts tended to become fairly highly coloured. As a result of that we had a policy right from day one of providing people with their entire clothing, including underwear and socks, for which the factory took responsibility for laundering. So there was a lot of clothing involved and everyone had a fresh change of clothing that were exposed to those sorts of areas every day." Alan Barlee, General Manager (mid 1960s - 1991).

Pigment Manufacturers of Australia (P.M.A.) was established at Laverton in 1961. It manufactured two main classes of pigments, azo and phthalocyanine, which were sold mainly to the local ink and paint markets. P.M.A. closed down in 1990 due to various economic and environmental factors.

Physical Description

Cotton blend singlet, stained with blue pigment.

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