Disposable PPE: Practical Buying Guide

If you’re an employer, you have legal duties concerning both the provision and use of personal protective equipment (PPE) where there is a health & safety risk which can’t be adequately controlled by other means.

In some cases, PPE should be of durable quality to ensure it offers long-lasting protection. In other situations, however, you should opt for using disposable workwear.

Disposable protective clothing (such as disposable coveralls or gloves) is designed to be worn only once. This type of garment can be very useful when:

• You want to prevent contamination spreading after use
• You want clean, fresh protective clothing every time
• You want a lightweight option – could be useful for the warmer months
• Your job site has lots of visitors and laundry costs are high

It’s critical that you ensure the use of disposable clothing is appropriate for each specific circumstance, task and user. 

We’ve put together a complete, practical product guide to help you navigate the process of purchasing adequate, high-quality single-use PPE. Whether you want to learn more about its benefits or which features to look for – keep reading for everything you need to know.

Benefits of Disposable Protective Clothing

PPE creates a protective barrier against the “penetration of substances, solid, liquid, or airborne particles”**. It’s essentially the last line of defence against hazards to reduce the risk of injury. 

Single-use clothing, in particular, is great for more hygienically sensitive jobs in hazardous environments, where PPE is rendered useless/dirty once it’s been worn once. 

Furthermore, disposable workwear is generally cheaper than heavy-duty PPE in the short term. As such, single-use PPE is a good alternative for businesses that have high laundry bills as a result of work-wear spoilage like workshops or garages. 

How to Choose Disposable Workwear

If you’re looking to buy disposable workwear, and are unsure where to start – think about the following critical factors:

• The tasks/jobs: PPE should help control risks that are specific to the job

• The work environment: your choice of protective equipment should be suitable for the work environment and its hazards

• The user: it’s important to consider fit and ergonomics for the specific user to ensure adequate protection from head to toe

• The quality: opt for trustworthy suppliers that guarantee appropriate protection 

The nature of hazards present is the primary indicator and guide for choosing adequate PPE. Conducting a thorough risk assessment is a key step in selecting the right protective clothing. 

Specialist suppliers should be able to help you and provide detailed information about PPE should you need it. Look for CE marked workwear – this means that a product is compliant with the relevant EU safety, health and/or environmental requirements. 

Employers are advised to discuss workwear with whom they’re buying it for as they understand the demands of the job and their working environment. 

Single-Use PPE in Food Environments

In food environments, PPE (such as disposable aprons, for instance) can help prevent cross-contamination as people commonly harbour food-poisoning bacteria. Food handlers have a responsibility to observe high standards of hygiene to ensure they do not contaminate food.

To prevent hair from contaminating food, you may want to buy disposable mob caps. Supertouch’s mob cap design is perfect for using in any hygienic colour-coded system as you’ve got 9 colours to choose from. What’s more, it’s compliant with food safety guidelines.

If you’re looking for disposable PPE sleeves for food handling and wet-work tasks, check out this one-size-fits all option. Manufactured from high quality polyethylene, these oversleeves are CE marked and comply with hygiene regulations. 

Types of Disposable PPE

There are multiple types of disposable PPE

• Whole body: e.g. overalls, aprons and coats
• Headwear: e.g. face masks, forage hats, hair nets, beard masks, mob caps
• Hands: e.g. vinyl gloves
• Feet: e.g. overshoes

You’ll want to stock extra units of disposable protective clothing in case it gets contaminated or happens to be faulty.

What the Law Says

The current legislation regarding PPE at work is The Personal Protective Equipment Regulations 2016/425, which is enforced by the Personal Protective Equipment (Enforcement) Regulations 2018. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is the enforcing authority.

Remember it’s important to train PPE users on the benefits and limitations of their workwear. PPE users should know how to properly wear their protective clothing and how to detect any faults that need to be reported.

Buying PPE 

Here at Complete Safety Supplies, we stock a wide range of high-quality disposable workwear to suit different needs. Whether you’re looking for gloves, oversleeves, aprons, coveralls or even mob caps, we’ve got you covered. 

We also stock long-lasting protective clothing such as water-resistant workwear, hi-vis sweatshirts, and lab coats. 

We work with trusted suppliers such as Supertouch, FlexiTog, Dunlop and Alsico.

You can contact us at sales@completesafetysupplies.co.uk for more information.

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References

*Risk at Work – Personal protective equipment (PPE), Health and Safety Executive, Accessed July 2021

**Questions About Personal Protective Equipment, U.S. Food & Drug Administration, Accessed July 2021