Taking precaution—in style

From protective headsets that allow users to listen to their iPod tunes when performing tasks to soldiers donning the latest in high-tech night-vision goggles, the $6.4 billion Personal protection equipment (PPE) market continues to grow and expand its repertoire of applications that include safety, entertainment and fashion.

Driven by safety concerns, the environment, new technology and the latest styles, the PPE market grew 7 percent last year, according to Specialists in Business Information (SBI), which tracks the industry.

Specifically, PPE products are becoming more job- and application-specific, said Bill England, a vp at Radians, a leading manufacturer of protection equipment. Fashion trends have affected the business. Radians, for example, sells a matching set of pink earmuffs and pink safety gloves to women who want protection while enjoying the latest in comfort and style. MSA Safety Works sells an eyewear line for women called Safe & Sophisticated, which features large fashionable lenses studded with gemstones. “Fashion is driving sales, and in the past five years the consumer and the DIYers are more educated,” England said.

A manager at a Long Island-based Lowe’s said the retailer displays safety gear adjacent to the tool with which they should be used. “The popularity of personal safety gear for the do-it-yourselfer [is a trend] we’ve been seeing for the past five years or so,” the manager said. “Around that same time, eyewear began to become more stylish.” He added that the new glasses on display change every nine months, much the way the fashion industry does.

Some of this fashion look has spilled into entertainment. “Ear muffs or hearing protectors that also include electronics for entertainment or communications for iPods and MP3 players are top sellers for us,” said Volker Fremuth, channel manager for retail specialty markets at Stanley, which has enjoyed double-digit growth in the PPE category this year. “We’re seeing a lot of attention in electronics hearing protection, which crosses a lot of areas.”

Safety continues to be the single biggest force at play. Safety comes in many forms—from OSHA-mandated workplace safety to more safety-conscious DIYers. Today, it is common to see people wearing safety glasses and wearing protective earmuffs around the yard. “You wouldn’t have seen that between five and 10 years ago,” Fremuth said. “You might today see pretty much everyone in the neighborhood wearing it.”

While PPE products have long existed in the workplace, the increase in home use is more recent. What’s more, today’s consumers aren’t content with low-grade goods; they want what the pros wear, experts said. “We are bringing industrial grade products to consumers; they’re demanding them,” Fremuth said.

Consumers and DIYers who are purchasing PPE gear for home use are doing so for good reason, since most injuries occur at home. The American Academy of Ophthalmology (Academy) and the American Society of Ocular Trauma (ASOT) found in a recent survey that nearly half of the 2.5 million eye injuries that Americans suffer annually now happen in and around the home. The associations have recommended that every household in America have at least one pair of ANSI-approved protective eyewear to be worn when doing projects and activities at home to safeguard against eye injuries. “People seem to understand that you need safety glasses when using power tools, but the threat to your eyesight lurks even in basic home repairs and cleaning,” said H. Dunbar Hoskins Jr., executive vp of the Academy.

MSA Safety Works has operated a six-week Home Safety Tour, in which it visits different towns and cities to educate homeowners about the need for sound safety practices around the house. They even equip individuals with safety glasses, hearing protection and respirators for use at home. The company claims that most people never think about wearing protective products or don’t feel a need to, yet accidents happen when they are least expected.

Fires, drought, hurricanes, floods tornadoes, Avian flu, anthrax scares. There is no shortage of environmental and health-related issues affecting Americans, and in turn that has fueled the PPE market with advances in face masks, gloves and body arm or to protect people. “Personal safety in general has been more and more top of mind as our politics and environment become more saturated with information that makes everyone question that safety,” Fremuth said.