Business
Why Sustainable PPE Became a Must for Our Business
Published by Jessica Weisman-Pitts
Posted on October 12, 2021
6 min readLast updated: January 29, 2026
Global Banking & Finance Review®
Company
Published by Jessica Weisman-Pitts
Posted on October 12, 2021
6 min readLast updated: January 29, 2026
Sustainable PPE is essential for reducing environmental impact, especially as single-use PPE contributes to pollution. Businesses must adopt eco-friendly practices.
We’re all becoming more aware of our impact on the environment, as well as the areas of our lives which affect it the most.
The sustainability of fashion in particular is in the news as we battle with clothing waste, fast fashion, and the increased requirement of personal protective equipment (PPE) and uniforms.
Our environment is currently facing a decay and the facts are there. Did you know that we’re currently using the equivalent of 1.5 earths to provide us with the resources we need and absorb our waste? By 2025 it’s predicted that we will need the equivalent of 3 earths to sustain us, if we keep up with the same pace.
With the rise of the eco-conscious mentality, businesses are on the lookout for new ways to reduce our consumption and waste, especially when it comes to fashion and the increased requirement for personal protective equipment (PPE) and uniforms.
The UK is one of the biggest culprits when it comes to clothing consumption and waste. The UK is one of the biggest contributors to fashion-induced pollution. The average person owns 115 items of clothing, but a shocking 30% of those clothes haven’t been worn.
On average, we buy over 26kg of clothing per person, per year – almost double the consumption of our European counterparts including Italy, Germany, and France. In comparison with our European counterparts, including Italy, Germany, and France, our consumption is almost double theirs, averaging at over 26kg of clothing per person, per year. £140 million worth of clothes goes to UK landfills each year, so it’s clear this is a pressing problem.
Work uniforms, including some PPEs, have the potential to be reused and recycled more often, as the uniforms of staff members who leave can be cleaned and passed onto new employees. A potential solution is to clean and hand down the uniforms of former staff members to new employees, thus enabling the reuse and recycling of work uniforms, including some PPEs, more often. We’re still not faring much better here though – 90% of the 16,000 tonnes of work clothes generated go to the landfill.
We all remember the PPE shortage that put NHS workers in danger last year as COVID-19 cases rose in the first wave. Can you recall last year’s PPE shortage that put NHS workers at a massive risk amidst the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak? During the coronavirus pandemic, PPE and protective uniforms have never been more important. More have been manufactured, used, and disposed of than ever before, which is having an environmental impact.
It’s estimated that the carbon footprint of PPE in the first six months of the pandemic equalled 106,478 tonnes of CO2 emissions. 106,478 tonnes of CO2 emissions is the carbon footprint estimate of PPE within the first six months of the pandemic. As a response to the shortages in 2020, the government advised medical workers to reuse certain items of PPE, including fluid-resistant masks and respirators, but it was widely condemned by healthcare professionals and publications including the British Medical Journal.
We’re not yet out of the pandemic woods, and PPE and uniforms are still vital in non-COVID medical settings such as surgeries, as well as other key sectors including retail. PPE and uniforms remain vital in non-COVID medical settings, such as surgeries, as well as other key sectors including retail, since we’re not yet out of the pandemic woods. As single-use PPE is impacting the environment, does the answer lie in reusable PPE?
We know that reusing disposable PPE is not an option, because it won’t offer the same levels of protection and isn’t the most environmentally friendly solution. But can reusable PPE be created for certain items? While reusing disposable PPE might not be a viable option due to its limited level of protection and low eco-friendliness, why not look at creating reusable PPE for certain items?
Jasmine Ho, clinical research training fellow at University College London, says yes. According to Jasmine Ho, clinical research training fellow at University College London, that is definitely an option. In an interview with the BMJ, she suggests that the UK follows the US in terms of creating guidelines for decontamination and reusable PPE. She says: “Changing culture and normalising reusables is one of the main things we want to do. There is almost a stigma associated with their use.”
The focus is on which elements of PPE can be made to be sustainable without compromising safety. The main question is which elements of PPE can be sustainably optimised without compromising safety. A study carried out on healthcare workers found that elastomeric half-mask respirators closely matched N95 masks on protection. These masks are mostly used in manufacturing and construction but rarely used in medical settings. This study has shown that they may be an effective solution for both safety and sustainability, providing they’re decontaminated effectively.
Reusable gowns and uniforms have also been trialled in response to a shortage of disposable PPE. In response to a shortage of disposable PPE, reusable gowns and uniforms have also been trialled. Some of these clothing items can be used up to 75 times, vastly reducing the amount of waste produced by single-use gowns.
It’s not just healthcare workers that require vital PPE, however. The need for PPE stretches beyond the healthcare industry. Key workers in sectors including retail and transport have been on the frontline with an increased risk of exposure to COVID-19. Providing reusable PPE and suitable workwear clothing may be more straightforward, as the requirements aren’t as stringent as in medical settings.
Suggestions to improve the sustainability of PPE include key workers using their own reusable face masks, and businesses purchasing uniforms made from materials that offer fluid-resistant protection. Businesses are venturing more into improving the sustainability of PPE by enabling key workers to use their own reusable face masks, as well as by purchasing uniforms made from materials that offer fluid-resistant protection. What’s more, some workwear and uniform manufacturers have created reusable, customisable face masks that offer the same three-layered protection as disposable masks. These masks can be given to staff as part of their uniform.
The UK is battling a number of crises, from managing COVID-19 to reducing our waste and fighting against climate change. The UK is standing its ground in a number of crises, from managing COVID-19 to reducing our waste and overcoming climate change. These issues go hand in hand – our increased need for essential PPE during the pandemic has led to an increase in plastic waste, but there is a solution that can help us protect our key workers and reduce the single-use items we send to landfill – reusable PPE.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/apr/13/timeline-of-uks-coronavirus-ppe-shortage
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2763841
https://www.bmj.com/content/372/bmj.n270
https://www.bmj.com/content/369/bmj.m1577
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/01410768211001583
http://www.uniformreuse.co.uk/
The article discusses the importance of sustainable PPE in reducing environmental impact and fashion waste.
Single-use PPE contributes significantly to pollution and has a large carbon footprint, especially highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
While reusing disposable PPE isn't viable, creating reusable PPE could be a sustainable alternative.
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