Mortuary Shirt Jacket

A mortuary shirt jacket focuses on isolated upper-body protection. It features full-length sleeves and completely covers the chest, abdomen, back, and shoulders, terminating at the waistline. Unlike a standard slip-on protective smock, the shirt jacket splits completely down the middle, making it far less intrusive to apply when dressing a decedent who has localized thoracic trauma, autopsied chest cavities, or leaking IV puncture points in the upper arms.

To create an isolated fluid barrier, the shirt jacket uses high-tension elastic bands at three critical escape pathways:

• Around the entire circumference of the neck opening.

• At both wrist openings to secure the cuffs against the arms.

• Embedded directly into the lower waistband.

This triple-point elastic configuration keeps the plastic snug against the decedent’s skin, preventing purging fluids, edema moisture, or cavity packing powders from migrating down past the torso or out through the sleeves.

The garment utilizes a heavy-duty front zipper system running straight up the center of the torso, paired with an integrated necktie at the throat. This mechanical closure allows prep room technicians to fully open the jacket during dressing and then pull it taut over thick internal autopsy packing or severe abdominal swelling. The zipper teeth and reinforced heat-sealed track are engineered to resist separating under high horizontal tension once the decedent is positioned in the casket.

The choice of material alters the fabric thickness, strength, and tactile behavior under formal burial attire:

• Clear Vinyl (Standard): This is an economical choice built with an 8 mil thickness. It provides excellent visibility for monitoring underlying sutures or skin conditions post-dressing, though it can produce a slight plastic crinkling noise if the remains are adjusted.

• Premium Opaque Polyolefin: This proprietary “soft touch” fabric is engineered at a 6 mil thickness with a quiet, matte finish that eliminates rustling sounds during viewings. Despite being thinner, its advanced polymer grid structure makes it three times tougher than standard vinyl, providing high resistance to rips from bone fragments or sharp autopsy twine.

Compatibility with cremation machinery depends on the chosen material variant. The Standard Clear Vinyl option is manufactured from PVC (polyvinyl chloride), which contains chlorine and releases corrosive gases and toxic dioxins under extreme heat—violating clean air mandates and degrading retort brick linings.

If a decedent is scheduled for flame or water cremation, technicians should use the Premium Opaque Polyolefin variant. This material is 100% chlorine-free and completely eco-friendly, incinerating cleanly into trace mineral ash without releasing hazardous emissions.