Protective Clothing Market size is forecast to reach $13.21 billion by 2025, after growing at a CAGR of 6.70% during 2020-2025. Increasing the demand for industrial clothing, such as growing concern for the health of workers coupled with strict government regulations and the strict labor laws have forced industrial producers in North America and Europe to strictly obey the standards and guidelines established by government organizations to prevent any type of occupational hazard. Increasing working population across North America, Europe and APAC is expected to have a positive impact on the growth due to the rapid growth of the manufacturing sector in these regions.





Key Takeaways

Increasing usage of protective clothing in medical sector for preventing transmission of viruses such as COVID-19, Ebola and infection controls.

Growing trend for multi-functional durable clothing with high chemical and mechanical resistance is expected to drive growth of protective clothing.

In addition to growing incidents of manual accidents in the workplace, rising demand for respiratory equipment for mining, emergency relief, military, law-enforcement facilities, health care and fire services is expected to drive market growth in the coming years.

To increase awareness of health and safety, the OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) has teamed up with various health and safety organizations, through the Workplace Innovator Award program, to create new ideas and solutions. Agencies in collaboration with market players are expected to encourage these measures to strengthen safety standards, which acts a driving for protective clothing market in coming years.





Material Type - Segment Analysis

Aramid and Blends material type segment has been the primary market for Protective Clothing for many years at a CAGR of 8.66%. Aramid fibers are typically used in flame resistant clothing, body armor, hot air filtration fabrics, sail cloth and among others. However, aramid fibers have an inherently poor resistance to ultraviolet light. Thus, fabrics made from aramid fibers change in color when exposed to ultraviolet light. Aramid fibers are widely used in the manufacture of protective clothing owning to its properties such as heat resistance, high tensile strength, resistance to abrasion, and resistance to chemical oils and organic solvents.





Application - Segment Analysis

Thermal application has been the primary market for Protective Clothing for many years at a CAGR of 13.20%. Protection from fire and extreme heat and the need to work around fire and heat, has created the need for thermal protective clothing. Thermal protective clothing are required to protect those working in primary metal industries with molten metal, and similar areas involving high heats such as welding, foundries, manufacturing, and construction. There are various regulations such as NFPA1971, ASTM 2701-08, ISO 17492, CGSB, ASTM F955-07 and others, that governs thermal protective clothing that allow useful thermal protection as well as high levels of chemical resistance, usually an outer garment of thermally resistant material worn over the chemical suit.





End-Use Industry - Segment Analysis

Manufacturing & Construction sector has been the primary market for Protective Clothing for many years at a CAGR of 7.80%. Manufacturing & construction industry involves vigorous activities that are often prone to accidents, risks and maybe hazard to the lives of the workers. Therefore, it is necessary, for each worker to wear adequate and suitable protective clothing that protects against possible hazards due to weather changes, electricity impacts, and other risks. Wearing a reflected vest is necessary for site engineers to maintain visibility while conducting site inspections and other site activities. Protective clothing used in manufacturing and construction industry includes gloves and high visibility clothing. However, the manufacturing & construction industries are being significantly affected due to the COVID-19 epidemic, as most of the countries have issued “stay at home guidance” i.e., lockdown. This factor is limiting protective clothing market growth.





Geography - Segment Analysis

North America dominated the Protective Clothing Market share with more than 35.4%, followed by Europe and APAC. The growth of end-use industries such as construction, oil & gas, manufacturing, and healthcare has led to ample growth opportunities in North America protective clothing market. This is much evident in the augmented import of goods from the parent industry, which indicates a perceptible demand for protective clothing. According to the Government of Canada, the country’s construction industry employs 1.2 million men and women. Moreover, the industry breached $14.8 million as of April 2019, according to the latest findings by the government. Association of Workers' Compensation Boards of Canada (AWCBC) stated that, the Canadian provinces with the most accidents in the construction industry, in 2017, with 951 workplace fatalities recorded in Canada, an increase of 46% from the previous year. Hence to avoid such accidents more care is to be taken by the employers by providing the employees with necessary protective clothing and equipment’s.





Drivers – Protective Clothing Market





The growing industrialization will augment the growth of protective clothing market

Improvement in economic climate along with boom in industrialization across the globe is leading the growth of protective clothing. Industries are embracing protective clothing to keep their workers safe and stringent regulations from government are by far the leading growth of protective clothing. Work-related accidents and illness in the US were down to 2.8 incidents per 100 in 2019, from 10.9 incidents per 100 employees in 1972 due to protective equipment, according to the US Bureau of Labor. With the increasing rate of industrialization, the number of manufacturing procedures and policy has increased by many proportions, as a result of which personal protective equipment companies are focusing on developing specific protective wear with a view to ensuring maximum workers health. According to United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) global survey of industrial policies reveals that, over the past 10 years, at least 101 economies across the developed and developing world (representing over 90% of global GDP) have implemented structured strategies for industrial growth. The last five years have seen the emergence of new approaches accelerate. The growth in industrial sector will rise the adoption of protective clothing.





Growing trend for multi-functional durable clothing is expected to drive growth of protective clothing

Multifunctional durable protective clothing meets a variety of requirements. The protective clothing can provide the wearer protection from one or more hazards. These may involve protection against mechanical impact, physical injury, heat/fire, extreme cold, rain, electric shock, radiation, invisibility and toxic substances and infectious agents. Design of new textile fabrics with multifunctional activity and property has gain much attention in recent years. Graphene can be integrated into polymers / textiles to enhance the properties of fabrics for different applications. Conventional protective clothing has impediments such as high weight, bulky nature, lack of mobility, heat stress, low heat dissipation, high physical stress, diminishing dexterity, and others. Because of the graphene's superlative properties, fabrics improved with this material can be an effective means of overcoming these limitations and enhancing properties such as mechanical strength, antibacterial action, flame resistance, conductivity, and UV power. Therefore, graphene modified new performance textile may be the breakthrough to overcome the shortcomings of protective clothing.





Challenges – Protective Clothing Market





Material selection while manufacturing protective clothing by manufacturers to reach the customer demand is one of the major challenges constraining the market growth

The material properties of fabrics can be extremely complex and difficult to predict. Textile fabrics are made up of a series of yarns produced from fibers, which interact with each other in many ways. The constituent fiber or yarn properties, weave or knit patterns and geometry of yarn and fabric structures, affect the overall material properties. The stresses and strains to which textiles would be subjected by the working body need to be considered while choosing materials. Some requirements common to all functional clothes are that they should be resistant with respect to abrasion, cut, protection against microbes, other hazardous chemical substances, protection against UV, fire, and others. Owning to this, various protective clothing manufacturers are continuously focusing on research in order to reach customer demand while being in the same standard. As a result, innovative fibers with special properties, special fabric and web forming technologies and developments in chemical and mechanical finishes make high performance textiles an important element of functional clothing design.





Market Landscape





Technology launches, acquisitions and R&D activities are key strategies adopted by players in the Protective Clothing Market. In 2019, the market of Protective Clothing has been consolidated by the top seven players accounting for 22% of the share. Major players in the Protective Clothing Market are Honeywell, DuPont, 3M, Sioen, Kimberly Clark Corp, Glen Raven Inc., Derekduck, Ansell Ltd., Lakeland Industries Inc., Mallcom (India) Limited, among others.





Acquisition/Product Launches

In March, 2017 3M has acquired Scott Safety from Johnson Controls for a total enterprise value of $2.0 billion. Scott Safety is a premier manufacturer of innovative products, including self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) systems, gas and flame detection instruments, and other safety devices that complement 3M’s personal safety portfolio.

In March 2019, Ansell Limited has launched a product MICROFLEX® MidKnight™ XTRA, a nitrile exam glove that has been tested against both fentanyl and gastric acid to simulate real-world overdose situations. The glove features an elongated cuff for added coverage of the wrist and forearm and has a distinctive black color that allows wearers to easily see potentially hazardous powders on hands.



