Global Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Market Outlook to 2026

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is most important in preventing transmission of contagious diseases such as Coronavirus, Ebola virus, etc., not only in treatment centers but also in various activities, e.g., cleaning, waste management, and safe burials, and community care related to the outbreak. According to BlueQuark Research & Consulting, the global personal protective equipment market is expected to witness a considerable growth rate during the forecast period. Outbreaks of epidemics and pandemics such as Ebola, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), or coronavirus (COVID-19) lead to increasing demand for Personal Protective Equipment. Furthermore, the Stringent Government Regulations are also driving the studied market. However, the availability of counterfeit products is likely to restrain the growth of the PPE market in the forecast period.

According to the World Health Organization, infectious diseases kill more than 17 million people in a year, and 30 new diseases have emerged worldwide in the last 20 years. Outbreaks of epidemics and pandemics such as Ebola, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), or coronavirus (COVID‐19), etc., are killing millions of people and are highly contagious. The ease of world travel adds another set of infectious diseases combined with an aging population that is more prone to these diseases. Economists and futurists predict that by the year 2050, infectious diseases will be the number one killer in the world, surpassing heart disease. The various pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, and parasites are evolving continuously and causing multiple diseases and require technologically advanced significant measures to cope up with them. The shortage of healthcare resources, lack of sanitation, and population compactness lead to an increase in infectious diseases. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), PPE is recommended to be used in the prevention and exposure to contagious diseases. Infectious diseases like Covid-19 can be caused by contact with contaminated surfaces and then touching facial areas; minimizing this risk is critical because the COVID-19 virus can live on plastic and steel surfaces for up to three days.

In epidemics of highly infectious diseases, healthcare workers are at a much higher risk of infection than the general population due to their contact with patients' contaminated body fluids. All of the PPE prevents contact with the infectious agent or body fluid that may contain the infectious agent by creating a barrier between the worker and the infectious material. Clean, disposable gloves are worn during direct contact with blood/body fluids, mucous membranes, non-intact skin, or any other potentially infectious material. They are also worn as a part of contact precautions for persons infected with pathogens transmitted by the contact route while directly touching the patient or when in the immediate patient environment. Filtering face pieces (FFP) and respirators such as powered air-purifying respirators are used to filter the air of small infectious particles such as TB bacteria or the SARS virus before entering the respiratory tract.

The Covid 19 outbreak has put personal protective equipment in the spotlight and made “PPE” a common term among the public. One of the trends in headgear is the shift from traditional hard hats to industrial safety helmets that mimic the design of a climber’s helmet. They are functional, comfortable, and look good while still keeping the user safe on the job. Some innovations include applying an antimicrobial coating to kill bacteria and attaching sensors to detect if employees are wearing the PPE correctly. These sensors provide a notification like a car’s seat belt detector when employees are wearing the PPE incorrectly. This notification can be wirelessly sent to a centralized database for monitoring by safety managers, who can then use this data to improve PPE compliance, reduce risk, and ensure worker safety.

The global Personal protective equipment market is segmented based on Type. The type segment is further segmented as Eye & Face Protection, Head Protection, Foot & Leg Protection, Hand & Arm Protection, Body Protection, Hearing Protection, Respiratory Protection, and Others. Respiratory protection is the largest market shareholder by type segment due to growing demand, mainly in the healthcare sector to equip staff involved in the treatment of contagious and infectious diseases.

Potential hazards affecting the hands and arms include skin absorption of harmful substances, chemical or thermal burns, electrical dangers, bruises, abrasions, cuts, punctures, fractures, and amputations. Hand & Arm protective equipment includes gloves, finger guards and arm coverings, or elbow-length gloves. The use of medical gloves is recommended as part of standard precautions to reduce the risk of contamination of healthcare workers’ hands with blood and other body fluids, including contact with non-intact skin and mucous membranes.

There are many different types of gloves used to protect hands from occupational hazards and as a means of providing a sterile skin cover for specific tasks. They can be multi-use or disposable. Their material depends on the intended use and includes latex, nitrile, neoprene, etc. Regular use of gloves by the public as a protective prevention measure is currently not recommended for Covid-19 or other respiratory infections. The unnecessary use of gloves in the community by millions of people daily results in the generation of a massive amount of medical waste into the environment. In the context of the COVID 19 pandemic, gloves are recommended when taking care of COVID-19 patients, especially when there is a risk of contact with body fluids.

Based on geography, the global Personal protective equipment PPE market is segmented into Asia Pacific, North America, South America, Europe, and Middle East & Africa. North America region is expected to be the largest market for global personal protective equipment due to its high production and consumption from the region.

The United States is the world’s largest economy. The GDP of the country has decreased at an annual rate of 5% in the first quarter and 9.5% in the second quarter of 2020 due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The Infectious Diseases Society of America has released eight recommendations on the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) for infection prevention among health care personnel caring for patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19. The number one reason to wear gloves is to protect hands and fingers. According to the National Safety Council, there are 3.4 billion work-related injuries annually, with USD 156.2 billion spent each year on work-related injuries. Slices, cuts, and abrasions account for almost 30% of the lost time and productivity in the country, and nearly 80% of these incidents involve the hands, which according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, is the leading body part injured on-the-job. More than one million US workers receive treatment in emergency departments annually for acute hand and figure injuries. Approximately 110,000 workers with hand and finger injuries lose days from work annually. Many of these injuries are preventable by wearing the proper hand protection. Wearing any glove reduces the risk of hand injury by 27%.

All PPE used in the country must be used in the context of a comprehensive infection control program that follows the Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) recommendations and applicable Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) requirements. Since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, health care systems across the US have reported a substantial shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE), compromising their ability to keep health care professionals safe while treating increasing numbers of patients. At present, US-based PPE production is limited, and more than 70% of respiratory protection supplies used in the US are manufactured in China. With substantial spikes in global demand and drastically reduced production in China during early 2020, major distributors have been unable to fill orders. The Department of Health and Human Services’ Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) and state stockpiles are mechanisms to provide additional PPE in emergencies. Getting adequate PPE allocation from the SNS has been a challenge during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The global personal protective equipment market was found to be consolidated. Major key players in the global PPE market were found to be the 3M Company, Ansell Limited, Cardinal Health Inc., DuPont de Nemours, Inc., and Dynarex Corporation, among others.

On 7th May 2020, 3M has been awarded two contracts through the U.S. Department of Defense in recent weeks to further expand U.S. production of N95 respirators in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

On 6th May 2020, Newly designed powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs), developed by Ford in close collaboration with 3M, are on the way to health care workers fighting COVID-19. Through the collaboration, 3M and Ford brought the new PAPR from idea to product in 40 days.

On 14th Apr 2020, 3M is partnering with Cummins to increase the production of high-efficiency particulate filters for use in 3M’s powered air-purifying respirators, or PAPRs. The partnership has the potential to more than double the current production of filters for 3M’s PAPRs.

In June 2020, the Ontario government announced to invest USD 2.8 million in manufacturers to ramp up production for personal protective equipment (PPE) to help frontline workers and communities stay safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, in June 2020, in order to help the world respond toward COVID-19, 3M, and researchers at MIT began testing a new rapid test to learn if a simple-to-use, diagnostic device can produce highly-accurate results within minutes and is feasible to be mass manufactured.

Our Global Personal protective equipment market report provides deep insight into the current and future state of the Personal protective equipment market across various regions. Also, the study comprehensively analyzes the Personal protective equipment market by segments based on Type (Eye & Face Protection, Head Protection, Foot & Leg Protection, Hand & Arm Protection, Body Protection, Hearing Protection, Respiratory Protection, and Others), and by Geography (Asia Pacific, North America, Europe, South America, and Middle-East and Africa). The report examines the market drivers and restraints, along with the impact of Covid-19 are influencing the market growth in detail. The study covers & includes emerging market trend, market developments, market opportunity, market size, market price analysis, market dynamics, and challenges in the industry. This report also covers extensively researched competitive landscape sections with profiles of major companies, including their market share and projects.