Abstract: A safety skirt is disclosed for an industrial lift apparatus. The lift apparatus has a base, a movable element separate from the base, a connecting assembly joining the movable element to the base, and a power system for actuating the connecting assembly to change the position of the movable element relative to the base. The safety skirt includes a skirt bottom adapted for attachment to the lift apparatus base and a skirt top adapted for attachment to the lift apparatus movable element. A plurality of skirt sides extend between the skirt bottom and the skirt top. They are adapted to surround the lift apparatus connecting assembly in order to isolate industrial personnel from the area between the lift apparatus base and lift apparatus movable element. Each of the skirt sides is formed from a plurality of pleats, each having an upper flap and a lower flap made from a flexible nonwoven material.