Have you ever wondered why UPS delivery drivers wear brown? It’s not a coincidence that the company’s iconic uniform is brown—it was chosen for a reason. UPS has been around for more than a century, and it has a long history of using the color brown to brand its employees. From a careful selection process to a creative marketing strategy, there is a lot more to the UPS uniform than meets the eye. In this article, we’ll take a closer look at UPS’s choice of color, as well as the company’s innovative use of brown to create a recognizable brand presence. Whether you’re curious about why UPS drivers wear brown or you’re looking to get a better understanding of how the company markets itself, this article will provide some valuable insights.

Why Does Ups Wear Brown?

Brown is a Professional Color

With its neutral tone and subtle hue, brown is a color that is easy to pair with a variety of other garments. In fact, brown is the most versatile color in the world – it goes with everything! Whether you’re wearing a suit or a casual outfit, you can easily incorporate a brown item of clothing into your wardrobe to create a cohesive look. Due to its versatility, brown is a color that is easy to wear and appropriate for any occasion. Brown is an extremely professional color that is associated with authority and power. Due to its association with the corporate world, brown is a color that is commonly used in professional attire. While black has become the color of choice in some industries, brown is seen as a more casual and approachable color that can be worn by both men and women.

Brown is a Comfortable Color

While brown may look like a bold or intense color, it is actually a very comfortable color. With one of the lowest rates of irritation, brown is the perfect color for people who have sensitive skin or allergies. Since brown is a neutral color, it does not have any extreme pigments that may cause irritation. As a result, brown is a color that is extremely comfortable to wear and does not cause any irritation.

Brown is a Safe Color

When it comes to safety, brown is a color that is almost impenetrable. Due to its low light reflectivity, a person wearing a brown garment is extremely difficult to see in the dark. Brown is one of the safest colors to wear at night and can help prevent accidents. If you work in a field that requires you to perform deliveries or other tasks in the evening, wearing a brown uniform can help you remain safe.

Brown is a Color of Reliability

Due to its natural and understated tone, brown is a color that is easy to pair with other garments. As a result, it is a color that can be paired with almost anything, making it extremely versatile. Because it is a very neutral color, brown does not have any extreme features that stand out. This makes it a color that is extremely reliable – it goes with everything and is extremely versatile with minimal effort.

Brown is an Affordable Color

While there are many factors that go into selecting the perfect color for a uniform, the cost is a factor that cannot be ignored. Most industries place a significant emphasis on the cost of uniforms, which is why brown is the ideal color for companies that are looking for a color that is both safe and affordable. While other colors, like black, are often associated with a sense of power, they can also be expensive to produce. As a result, black uniforms can be more costly to produce and maintain. Brown, on the other hand, is a color that is easy to dye, requiring minimal effort and materials to produce. As a result, it is an extremely affordable color that is easy to maintain.

UPS’s History With Brown

1. Brown has a long history with the UPS company due to its association with the rise of the automobile. In the early 1900s, the automobile became a popular mode of transportation, and it changed the landscape of both industry and everyday life. 
2. However, as with many technological advancements, the automobile was also accompanied by an increase in accidents. To alert others to these hazards, many automobiles were painted brown to create a specific identity for vehicles on the road. 
3. While the rise of the automobile may be a key reason for brown’s popularity in the early 1900s, the growing use of color photography also played a major factor in the increased use of brown. Before the invention of color photography, black and white photos were the most common pictures.
4.  In the early 1900s, however, color photography became a popular and accessible way to capture memories. Since the color brown is often less vivid than other colors, it was an ideal choice to create natural-looking images without an abundance of vibrant color.

How UPS Uses Brown To Create A Recognizable Brand Presence?

• Another important aspect of the UPS uniform is that it is a “closed loop” system. This means that the uniforms are manufactured and used by the company in a closed system, where nothing flows out of their factories. 
• This differs from an “open loop” system, where things are produced and sent out into the world, coming back to the company at some point. This closed-loop system allows UPS to control the entire branding process, from the type of brown dye used to the stitching on their uniforms. 
• By controlling the dye and manufacturing process, UPS ensures a consistent shade of brown in their uniforms. This consistency in the shade of brown creates a recognizable brand presence, helping UPS to stand out among other shipping companies.

UPS’s Selection Process For Their Uniforms

1. A major aspect of the selection process for UPS uniforms is their desire to use a brown dye that is very consistent in shade. In order to do this, they’ve partnered with a company called HBT, an international textile company that has been dyeing fabrics since the early 1900s.
2. HBT has been supplying UPS with their uniforms since the 1990s, and UPS has worked with them to develop a specific process for dyeing their brown uniforms. This process begins with selecting the type of cotton needed for UPS uniforms. 
3. Next, the cotton is picked and sent to a spinning facility, where it is spun into yarn. The yarn is then sent to a weaving facility, where it’s woven into fabric. Finally, the fabric is dyed by HBT in one of three shades of brown.

UPS’s Unique Marketing Strategy Uses Brown

• As you’ve seen, UPS has a long history of using brown in its branding. While this alone is enough to make UPS stand out from its competitors, the company has also created an incredibly unique marketing strategy using brown. 
• In fact, UPS’s use of brown has prompted other companies to adopt the color in their branding. Let’s take a closer look at UPS’s unique marketing strategy using brown. 
• UPS’s rise to prominence – UPS first became popular in the 1930s, but it wasn’t until the 1940s that the company really began to make a name for itself. During World War II, the United States government put a ban on all civilian flying, which meant that UPS was the only company allowed to fly cargo. Since UPS is the only company allowed to fly cargo, it was the only company that could deliver packages. As a result, UPS became incredibly popular. 
• Air Force One – In addition to the popularity of UPS, the company also became a part of history. You may not know this, but the color brown was actually the first choice for Air Force One, the president’s plane. However, the president at the time, Harry S Truman, changed his mind and asked that it be painted blue instead. Truman later admitted that he was wrong, and he regretted his decision. In the end, Air Force One is painted blue, but the president’s helicopter is still brown, keeping UPS tied to the president’s fleet.

Impact of UPS’s Use Of Brown On Their Brand

1. As we’ve seen, there are many reasons why companies choose a specific color for their branding. These colors may be chosen for their personality traits, their ability to create an image, or their consistency over time. Regardless of the reason why companies choose a specific color, there is almost always an impact on their brand. Let’s take a closer look at how UPS’s use of brown has impacted its brand. 
2. Trust – As we’ve discussed, one reason why UPS uses brown in its branding is because of its association with being reliable and trustworthy. Since UPS has been using brown in its branding for more than 100 years, the color has had plenty of time to impact the company’s brand. People trust UPS not just because they have to, but also because they want to. The company has proven itself to be reliable, and that has led to increased trust among consumers. 
3. Significance – Another impact of UPS’s use of brown on its brand is that the color has come to represent the company. When most people think about UPS, they think about brown. If a company wants to be remembered, it must be bold and memorable. Through the use of brown, UPS has become a memorable brand.

Conclusion

Communicating a company’s values through branding is incredibly important, as it helps to shape the company’s public image. This is why so many companies spend a lot of time and energy carefully selecting their branding colors. When it comes to choosing a color, there are many factors a company must consider. It must choose a color that is relevant to its industry and products.