A booming manufacturing sector combined with a relatively recent focus on workplace safety make China the biggest potential market for PPE, according to a comprehensive new market study conducted by 3M.

The survey of 298 safety professionals in 10 countries, representing the Americas, Europe and Asia, covered a spectrum of industries, including construction, oil and gas, transportation and mining.

Safety gloves are the most commonly used safety product worldwide, with 91 percent of respondents indicating their use. Other items on the top ten most popular PPE products:shoes, ear plugs, goggles, helmets/hard hats, non-prescription eyewear, face shields, disposable respirators, earmuffs and welding protection shields.

The 3M study found that the use of PPE varies widely by country, with Norway employing the most PPE, followed closely by the United States. Of the top ten most commonly used categories of PPE, China reported the lowest use in seven categories.

The geographical differences in PPE use were evident in specific types of PPE that are used. For example, earmuffs are used by 100 percent of study participants in Norway, but only by 15 percent of respondents in China. Communication headsets are specified by 67 percent of respondents in France but only 10 percent of respondents in Italy.

About 3M Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Safety Solutions

3M offers a comprehensive, diverse portfolio of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) solutions providing respiratory protection, hearing protection, fall protection, reflective materials for high visibility, protective clothing, protective eyewear, head and face protection, welding helmets, and other adjacent products and solutions such as tactical safety equipment, detection, monitoring equipment, active communications equipment and compliance management. In 2012, 3M celebrates 40 years of safety leadership – recognizing the company’s respiratory and hearing protection solutions introduced in 1972.  Visitwww.3M.com/PPESafety.

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