diff --git a/tests/Feature/StylesheetsTest.php b/tests/Feature/StylesheetsTest.php
index 2d6df214..81cefd1a 100644
--- a/tests/Feature/StylesheetsTest.php
+++ b/tests/Feature/StylesheetsTest.php
@@ -412,9 +412,13 @@ it('draws the interaction classes as the utilities the Tailwind components still
         ->and(stylesheetBlock($interaction, '.md-touch-target'))->toContain('min-width: var(--md-sys-measurement-space600);');
 });
 
-it('declares the material layers in the Workbench before Tailwind\'s', function () {
+it('declares the material layers in the Workbench between Tailwind\'s preflight and its utilities', function () {
     $app = stylesheetWithoutComments(File::get(__DIR__.'/../../workbench/resources/css/app.css'));
 
+    // The first statement orders the layers: above preflight, whose `* { padding: 0 }` would
+    // otherwise beat a rewritten component's padding, and below the utilities.
+    expect(trim($app))->toStartWith('@layer theme, base, material, components, utilities;');
+
     $foundation = strpos($app, "@import '../../../resources/css/foundation.css';");
     $tailwind = strpos($app, "@import 'tailwindcss'");
     $components = strpos($app, "@import '../../../resources/css/tailwind.css';");
diff --git a/workbench/resources/css/app.css b/workbench/resources/css/app.css
index b0d5c678..9e7d115d 100644
--- a/workbench/resources/css/app.css
+++ b/workbench/resources/css/app.css
@@ -1,7 +1,10 @@
 /* The Workbench builds the package as an application would, with explicit sources so the plans
-   in docs/ are not scanned for class names. The foundation comes before Tailwind, so the
-   `material` layers are declared first and sit below Tailwind's; tailwind.css brings the
-   components still written for Tailwind, without declaring the tokens a second time. */
+   in docs/ are not scanned for class names. The layer statement puts the `material` layers above
+   Tailwind's preflight (`base`) and below its `components` and `utilities`: a rewritten component's
+   padding, margin and border would otherwise lose to preflight's `* { padding: 0 }`, which the
+   material reset already carries, while every utility still outranks the package. tailwind.css
+   brings the components still written for Tailwind, without declaring the tokens a second time. */
+@layer theme, base, material, components, utilities;
 @import '../../../resources/css/foundation.css';
 @import '../../../resources/css/layout.css';
 @import '../../../resources/css/components.css';