PPE Buying Checklist: Work Gloves, Carhartt Coveralls, and the 'Fence' Word You Need to Know

I'm a procurement manager, not a safety engineer. This is the checklist I use before I sign a PO for work gloves or coveralls.

I wasn't sure if I wanted to write this. But after six years of buying PPE for a 280-person metal fabrication company, I've made enough mistakes that a lot of them might help someone else. Our annual PPE spend went from about $28,000 to $41,000. Actually, hit $44,000 one year when I didn't check lead times and paid rush freight on nearly every order. That's the kind of error this checklist is built on.

This is written for the person who suddenly has to buy safety equipment: new buyer, safety coordinator, office manager. I order a lot of our PPE through Magid Glove & Safety Manufacturing, but the steps work with any supplier. The goal is not to find the lowest price. The goal is to find the actual lowest cost for the performance you need.

Everything here was accurate as of Q1 2025. PPE standards and vendor catalogs change fast, so verify current specs before you commit.

Step 1: Match the Product to the Hazard—Not the Brand

Don't open a catalog before you've walked the plant floor. In my first year, I picked a 'good all-purpose work glove' based on the average rating. We ordered 2,000 pairs and immediately got complaints. Sheet metal guys needed a higher cut resistance level, while assembly guys needed more dexterity. One SKU can't do both.

Start with a list of hazards: cut risk, abrasion, impact, chemical exposure, wet or cold conditions. For coveralls, add flame, arc flash, and high visibility to the list. Then choose a product that meets the matching standard.

Step 2: Compare Total Cost, Not Unit Price

I still kick myself for the time I chose a lower-priced glove and ignored the math.

One supplier quoted $1.12 per pair. Another quoted $0.74. I almost bought the $0.74 option until I calculated total cost: the cheaper glove had higher freight on small orders, and it lasted about four days instead of two weeks. Cost per wear was actually higher.

So calculate cost per month, not cost per pair. If a $1.12 glove lasts two weeks and a $0.74 glove lasts four days, the $1.12 glove wins.

Step 3: Ask for the Standard on the Label

'Heavy duty' and 'industrial grade' mean nothing without a test method. Ask for the standard.

For cut-resistant work gloves, that's often ANSI/ISEA 138-2019 in the U.S., or EN 388 if the supplier uses European ratings. For impact, check the impact rating. For electrical work, look for ASTM D120. If the supplier can't show a test report or certificate, treat the product as unrated.

OSHA's PPE standard (29 CFR 1910.132, via osha.gov) requires employers to provide PPE that fits and protects against the hazard. A glove that says 'extra strong' but has no cert doesn't meet that test.

Step 4: Check Whether 'carhart coveralls' Is What the Crew Means

When someone says 'carhart coveralls,' they usually mean Carhartt coveralls. But that's not one product. Carhartt makes duck work coveralls, FR coveralls, insulated coveralls, and light-duty options. I once ordered 'the Carhartt coveralls' from a reseller and got a lightweight style when the welder needed FR-rated. He was not happy. I paid $54 in next-day freight on a $160 garment. (note to self: always write the exact model number into the PO.)

If you're buying for winter, check whether the line is insulated and whether it's FR. Around weld sparks or arc flash, 'warm' doesn't mean 'safe.'

Step 5: Search for the 'Fence' Problem

Okay, the keyword not on your purchase order: what is a fence in crime?

The short answer: a fence is a person or business that buys and sells stolen goods. In the PPE world, that's not a theoretical thing. Work gloves, Carhartt coveralls, and other branded safety gear have resale value, which means they get stolen and resold. If a supplier offers brand-new gear at a price that seems too good, there's a chance it's fenced.

Warning signs I watch for:

• No invoice or a vague 'warehouse deal' explanation
• Lot numbers or date codes that don't match the packaging
• The seller won't share the brand's authorized distributor certificate
• No physical address, no phone number—just an email or a chat app

Buying stolen PPE isn't only a moral problem. If the gear turns out to be counterfeit or improperly stored, it can create a liability nightmare. I'm not a lawyer, and this isn't legal advice. But I've walked away from a deal that could have saved me $3,000 on the budget and cost me more later.

Step 6: Test Before You Roll Out

For work gloves, order 10-20 pairs and give them to a small crew for two weeks. For coveralls, order one or two if possible and have someone try them on with cold-weather layering. If the fit is off, the price doesn't matter.

When we switched to Magid Glove and Safety Mfg as one of our primary PPE suppliers, I didn't replace everything overnight. I started by bookmarking their 'magid-glove' product section and cross-checking the ANSI levels against our hazard list. Then we tested one glove line, one coverall style, and one boot line. Only after that did we expand.

Step 7: Get Shipping and Lead Times in Writing

This sounds basic, but it's the hidden cost I kept running into. One supplier had a 30% lower unit price. The lead time was 'about two weeks.' We needed the order in four days. Next-day freight ate 50% of the order value. The 'cheap' option ended up costing more than the original one.

Ask about minimum order quantities, shipping, and backorders before you add to cart. Some distributors hide the freight charge until checkout.

Step 8: Document, Document, Document

After tracking hundreds of PPE orders over six years in our cost system, I found that most of our overruns came from rush freight and reorders, not from the gloves themselves. We now require three quotes for any order over $1,000. That forces us to compare total cost before buying instead of after.

If I could restart, I'd keep a simple spreadsheet from day one: SKU, unit price, freight, standard, test report, supplier contact, and date. When someone says 'let's order 2,000 more of those,' you can look up what 'those' were and whether they actually worked.

Things I Still Struggle With

Six years in, I don't have all of it figured out.

New suppliers with great credentials. I have mixed feelings. On one hand, they may be hungry and give better service. On the other, you lose your backup if they don't deliver. I keep a primary + backup model now.

Brand loyalty. Safety managers often insist on specific brands because 'we've always used them.' That can hide better options. At the same time, switching brands creates training issues. The best answer is usually a middle ground: keep the brand for critical items, test alternatives on non-critical items.

Standards updates. Honestly, I'm not sure why both EN and ANSI ratings still appear on the same packaging. My best guess is that global suppliers cover both markets. Just check the version and year on the label before you rely on it.

The 30-Second Version

• Match the product to the actual hazard and standard.
• Calculate total cost over the product's life, not just the unit price.
• Verify that the discount deal isn't fenced or counterfeit.
• Ask for samples, and document the numbers.

We order a lot of our PPE through Magid Glove & Safety Manufacturing because I can get work gloves, coveralls, and safety eyewear through one distributor, and they have hands-on manufacturing experience. But that's not a promise for your situation—it's a starting point. Test this checklist against your own orders and adjust.

Prices, standards, and supplier details were accurate as of Q1 2025. PPE changes fast. Verify current standards and prices before you commit.