Fewer Than 4% of Women's Workwear Styles Reach 5XL, Arklavo Report Finds

Arklavo has published a free 2026 report on size-inclusive workwear. An audit of 327 adult styles in three 2026 catalogs from one national distributor finds that 21.0% of standard and unmarked adult tees, polos and outerwear advertise a 5XL, against 3.6% of styles explicitly cut for women. Availability does not taper as sizes rise. It drops: 91.9% of styles reach 3XL, 75.5% reach 4XL and 14.8% reach 5XL.

WILMINGTON, Del., September 16, 2026. Arklavo today released Size-Inclusive Workwear: The 2026 U.S. Catalog Availability Report, an open-access study of the size ranges actually published for the garments American businesses buy as staff uniforms. The full report, its data tables and the calculation files that reproduce every count are free at arklavo.com/blogs/custom-apparel-guide/size-inclusive-workwear.

The study inventoried all 327 adult entries in three 2026 catalogs from one national distributor, covering tees, polos and outerwear, captured on September 14, 2026. Of the 310 non-tall entries, 285, or 91.9%, advertised at least a 3XL; 234, or 75.5%, advertised at least a 4XL; and 46, or 14.8%, advertised a 5XL. The gap between cuts opens at the top of the range. Among the 200 standard, adult or otherwise unmarked entries, 78.0% reached 4XL and 21.0% reached 5XL. Among the 110 entries explicitly cut for women, 70.9% reached 4XL and 3.6% reached 5XL.

"A team orders one polo for everyone, and the version cut for women often stops short of the version that is not," said an Arklavo spokesperson. "The catalogs make that outcome predictable. We counted it so employers can see it before the order goes in, not after."

The Cliff Between 4XL and 5XL

The report's most striking pattern is the shape of the curve. Coverage falls 16 points from 3XL to 4XL and then 61 points from 4XL to 5XL. An employer who needs a 5XL is choosing from roughly one style in seven, and from one women's style in twenty-eight. The report states that the difference at 5XL is a difference in published size labels across catalog groups, not a measure of the proportion of men or women who could obtain suitable garments.

The Word "Extended" Has No Fixed Meaning

Because 3XL, 4XL and 5XL produce such different counts, a uniform brief that asks for "extended sizing" without naming the size it needs is not specifying anything. Women's and companion cuts often carry a narrower published range than the matching standard style, so each cut has to be checked on its own. Tall is a separate range again; the audit counted 17 explicitly tall entries and excluded them from the non-tall thresholds.

"Extended sizing is one of the most common promises in workwear and one of the least defined," the spokesperson said. "The report gives an employer three numbers to write into a brief instead of one word."

Color Is Its Own Question

The second component of the study looked at one widely offered T-shirt style across all 46 colors listed on its official product page. 35 of the 46 colors, or 76.1%, listed a 4XL. Only 8 colors, or 17.4%, listed 5XL and 6XL. A style's published size range does not show which colors reach the top of it, so an employee's size and an employer's chosen color can each be available while the combination is not. The audit names every style and catalog in the published data table so the counts can be checked.

"We are not ranking brands or saying anyone is wrong," the spokesperson said. "We counted what the catalogs publish, on a fixed date, and we show our work."

What the Report Does Not Claim

The report separates a dated catalog observation from an operational availability claim. A published size label is not proof that the size is in stock, that it fits a given wearer or that it will be reordered next season. The methodology section explains the sample boundaries, the capture date and the denominator behind every percentage, and the downloadable results keep two decimal places where the report rounds to one.

Where to Get the Report

The full report is free to read in its entirety at arklavo.com/blogs/custom-apparel-guide/size-inclusive-workwear. The complete style table, the color matrix and the calculation files are available for free download from the same page, and a PDF edition is available on request through the page. Charts are available as PNG and SVG files with a suggested citation.

About Arklavo

Arklavo is a United States custom branded apparel company founded in 2023 and headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware. The self-funded company supplies custom polos, tees, hoodies, hats, jackets, aprons and workwear to more than 13,000 businesses across corporate, healthcare, hospitality, education, sports, trades and retail, with no minimum order, in the United States and internationally. Arklavo also publishes open-access research on the apparel industry, with every dataset and calculation released alongside each report. Learn more at arklavo.com.

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