Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is most significant in preventing transmission of contagious diseases like Ebola virus, Coronavirus, etc., not only in treatment centers but also in several activities, e.g., cleaning, waste management, 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 Personal Protective Equipment PPE market. However, the availability of counterfeit products will likely restrain the PPE market's growth in the forecasted period.

According to the World Health Organizations, infectious diseases kill more than 17 million people annually, and 30 new diseases have appeared worldwide in the last 20 years. Outbursts of epidemics and pandemics such as Ebola, extreme acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), 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 more prone to these diseases. Economists and futurists projected that by the year 2050, infectious diseases would be the number one killer in the world, surpassing heart disease. The various pathogens such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites are evolving continuously and causing multiple diseases and require technologically advanced measures to cope with them. The scarcity of healthcare resources, lack of sanitation, and population compactness increase infectious diseases. According to the Centers for Diseases Control and Preventions (CDC), PPE is recommended for the prevention and exposure to contagious diseases. Infectious diseases like Covid-19 can be caused by contact with contaminated surfaces and touching facial areas. Reducing this risk is critical because the COVID-19 virus can live on plastic and steel surfaces for up to three days.

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

The Covid 19 impact 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 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 to treat 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, arm coverings, or elbow-length gloves. Medical gloves are recommended as part of standard precautions to decrease the risk of contamination of healthcare worker's hands with blood and other body fluids, as well as contact with non-intact skin and mucous membranes.

There are many various types of gloves used to protect hands from occupational hazards and provide a sterile skin cover for specific tasks. They can be multi-use or disposable. Their material depends on the intended usage and includes nitrile, neoprene, latex, etc. Regular usage of gloves by the public as a protective prevention measure is presently not recommended for Covid-19 or other respiratory infections. The unnecessary usage of gloves in the community by millions of people daily results in the generation of a vast 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, mainly when there is a risk of contact with body fluids.

The global Personal protective equipment market is fragmented into Asia Pacific, North America, South America, Europe, and Middle East & Africa. The North American region is awaited to be the largest global market due to its high production and consumption.

The United States is the world's highest economy. The country's GDP has reduced at an annual rate of 5% in the first and 9.5% in the second quarter of 2020, owing to the continuing coronavirus pandemic. The Infectious Diseases Society of America has free eight recommendations on using personal protective equipment (PPE) for infection inhibitors among health care personnel caring for patients with suspected COVID-19. The number one reason to use gloves is to protect hands and fingers. According to the National Safety Councils, there are 3.4 billion work-related injuries annually, with USD 156.2 billion yearly on work-related injuries. Slices, cuts, and abrasions account for approx 30% of the lost time and productivity in the country, and about 80% of these incidents involve the hands, which according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, are the leading body part injured on-the-job. More than one million US workers annually receive treatment in emergency departments 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, healthcare systems across the US have reported a considerable shortage of personal protective equipment, compromising their ability to keep healthcare professionals safe while treating increasing numbers of patients. Currently, US-based PPE production is limited, and more than 70% of respiratory protection supplies used in the US are produced in China. With notable spikes in global demand and drastically decreased production in China during early 2020, major distributors have been inadequate to fill orders. The Departments of Health and Human Services' Strategic National Stockpile and state stockpiles are mechanisms to offer additional PPE in emergencies. Getting sufficient PPE allocation from the SNS has been challenging during COVID-19 widespread.

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

On 7th May 2020, 3M was awarded two contracts through the US Department of Defense in recent weeks to further expand US production of N95 respirators in response to the COVID-19 outbursts.

On 6th May 2020, Newly designed powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs), evolved by Ford in close association with 3M, are in the process for healthcare 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 grow the production of high-efficiency particulate filters for use in 3 M's powered air-purifying respirators, or PAPRs. The partnership can potentially double the current production of filters for 3 M's PAPRs.

In June 2020, the Ontario government announced the investment of USD 2.8 million in producers to ramp up the producer of personal protective equipment (PPE) to help frontline workers and communities stay safe during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, in June 2020, to help the world respond to 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 Product 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 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.