Importers beware! The National Consumer Commission (NCC) has immense power over the labelling of goods, and it appears to be stepping up its efforts to police labelling legislation.A KZN-based PPE distributor, which has been a regular importer of plain white cotton gloves – 3 containers a year for 10 years, 120 000 pairs per co ...more

Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA – Fashion footwear company Dangee Carken has entered the safety footwear market with its Grittgear brand.Safety footwear industry veteran Mark Silverman has joined as a director of Dangee leading its safety division.“With three decades in the workwear industry, I have gained an in-depth understanding ...more

The acquisition of Trappers Outdoor by Hi-Tec Sports Distributors was reported in S&V Newsletter on 10 June. Here, Hi-Tec CEO Gary de Vogel replies to questions on the effect of the acquisition. ...more

It’s an increasingly surveilled world – now Big Brother can keep an eye on staff not complying with PPE rules. ...more

PPE is NOT just about price: The key is having all the information to be able to make the correct decision. OHS and procurement staff must work together ...more

Cape Town, W. Cape, SA – When they started, in 2016, they had no footwear background at all. By last year, they were responsible for between 13% and 18% of SA’s footwear exports by pairs, and probably at least as much by value.Anyone who knows much about SA’s footwear exports will know the reference is to Veldskoen (Pty) ...more

Cape Town, W. Cape, SA - In general, our sales are on par with last year for the same period (January to July). We are, however, in a much better position when it comes to stock availability to service our customers in full and on time.It is very difficult to determine regional sales as chain stores count for more than 50% of our business ...more

Cape Town, W. Cape, SA – Richemont, the SIX Swiss Exchange- and Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed luxury goods group, has bought a controlling stake in Milan-based men’s and women’s footwear manufacturer Gianvito Rossi, according to a release on Friday:Gianvito Rossi, Founder, CEO and Creative Director of the eponymous ...more

Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA - Business "has been showing a slight improvement", said Cedric Zoghby, with his brother Norman, a member of Atlantic Protective Clothing cc. "However, we are going into end-of-year mode, and orders are slowing down."      He said the year overall had been tough. ...more

The millions of masks, gloves and other PPE generated by the pandemic have created a global waste problem, with many of them ending up in our oceans. In April, BBC News and Sky News reported developments to recycle at least some of them. ...more

Safety footwear has so far survived the pandemic relatively unscathed - no life support from government, and apparently no casualties. ...more

More than any other footwear category in South Africa, safety footwear has so far survived the pandemic relatively unscathed - no life support from government, and apparently no casualties. It helped that its status as part of PPE, and therefore an essential service, allowed it to operate, albeit on a reduced scale, during the strictest p ...more

Eugene du Toit, BBF Safety Group technical managerTo start, we’d like to acknowledge the work the NRCS is doing with regards to safety footwear and the PPE categories they regulate.  The enormity of the task is sometimes overlooked but, taking into account that safety footwear only came into the NRCS portfolio a few years ago, ...more

Windhoek - "We're actually among the lucky firms," said sales representative Samantha Pieterse of PPE distributor J. Gerdes Uniwear. "A lot of companies have closed down, and business is a bit up and down, but overall we're trading quite well." Although the business doesn't carry facemasks, she said sourcing any forms ...more

Spurred by the unlikely combination of athleisure and lockdowns, comfort footwear has become a category for every brand. Comfort footwear, comfortable footwear, wellness footwear, health footwear - different names and shades of meaning - but until fairly recently, in South Africa, mostly footwear for one category of end consumer, dominated by a few brands and a few specialist retailers.rn ...more

Springs, Gauteng – "I can't complain," said Cattell's Industrial Footwear owner Rob Cattell. "January was on par with last year, February was slightly up. This month will be down on last year, because it was in March last year that the first lockdown started."      That good month l ...more

Pretoria, Gauteng, SA (March 15, 2021) – A Cape Town medical equipment supplier, accused of charging the Western Cape Department of Health excessive prices for medical examination gloves, has supplied the Department, at no charge, with 49 400 surgical masks to the same value (at cost) as the estimated “excessive profits& ...more

Pretoria, Gauteng, SA (March 08, 2021) – A Covid-19 excessive pricing case, involving the supply of 500 000 surgical face masks to the South African Police Service (SAPS) for its employees, will start in the Tribunal today.      Tsutsumani Business Enterprises cc supplies a variety of products, r ...more

How long will stitchdowns be a fashion item this time around? It’s hard to predict but I believe stitchdowns current popularity will continue for many more seasons, especially locally due to price and the versatility of the traditional Veldschoen silhouette.  Fashion fluctuates depending on the times so the Vellie demand w ...more

Johannesburg, Gauteng, SA - Shortages of facemasks and coveralls caused by the pandemic have resulted in many PPE distributors and resellers "turning a blind eye" to checking that the products they sell meet required standards, according to Deleane Luzzatto, chairperson of the Southern African Protective Equipment Marketing Asso ...more

We asked a number of manufacturers: Is it now feasible for you to restart general production, or have you already restarted? What is your order position like, and have there been cancellations? Are any of your staff refusing to come back to work for any reason, and if so, what reasons? 4 have so far responded: The Little Slipper Co: ...more

 Pretoria, Gauteng, SA - The National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications (NRCS) has confirmed that it is "looking at the regulation of PPE as a whole", but it says that it is a process that will take time. "We will be having a lot of consultations with industry and key stakeholders," said Thomas Madzivhe, GM: ...more

Johannesburg (SA) – The 2nd annual Personal Protective Equipment Symposium will be held on March 29 and 30 at the 3M auditorium in Woodmead, Johannesburg, according to a release from organiser Amabhubesi.        It will cover PPE issues including comfort, productivity considerations, eye protection, compliance &a ...more