WORKWEAR Summit Toledo
PUT YOUR BEST FOOT FORWARD
With a wide range of protective footwear to choose from, how can merchants capitalise on comfort in safety footwear? BMJ finds out.
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or many, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) seems to prioritise safety over comfort, but if users find the equipment uncomfortable, they are less likely to want to wear it, despite the safety benefits.
Brand manager for Overland Shoes, Peter Lawson, explains; “Imagine the scene. It’s early morning on a new jobsite. As the team gears up for a long shift ahead, familiar grumbles about Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) fill the air. No one wants another day in stiff, uncomfortable boots. ‘These kill my feet. I’m not wearing them,’ someone mutters. It might sound ridiculous; after all, expecting workers in physically demanding roles to compromise comfort for protection undermines both safety and performance. Yet this has been a reality that many site managers have faced daily.” For decades, safety footwear has focused almost entirely on protection and durability, resulting in PPE which is often heavy and uncomfortable. Without paying more, buyers had little choice but to accept that comfort often came second. At the same time, a
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speak for themselves: while Nike and Adidas chase flashy trends, for these two brands a comfort-first approach coupled with distinctive design and performance, all delivered at a mid-price point, has resulted in billions of dollars in sales globally. Clearly then, comfort isn’t just a nice-to-have anymore. It’s big business.”
tendency to base procurement decisions on an age-old ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach meant lots of workers ended up stuck wearing shoes or boots that didn’t fit right; leading to discomfort, restricted movement and fatigue. “Fortunately, this story is changing - and fast. Thanks to the comfort footwear revolution, led by brands such as HOKA and On Running,” Lawson continues, “workers are demanding more from their safety footwear. They want it to perform and feel as good as their favourite trainers. And the numbers
An expanding market Underscoring this shift is a greater awareness about the role of comfort in supporting wellbeing and performance. Bobcat’s research shows that around 60% of women and 45% of men report that their safety footwear is less comfortable than regular footwear, with some studies suggesting that as high as 91% of workers wearing safety shoes reported foot problems directly attributed to their footwear. When footwear causes pain or fatigue, compliance drops, productivity suffers and morale declines. With this, it’s easy to see why comfort now ranks nearly as high as protection when it comes to safety footwear procurement decisions.
The result is an active and commercially promising product category. In the UK the PPE market is estimated to be worth over £2.2 billion annually, with safety footwear accounting for approximately 20% of that total.
www.buildersmerchantsjournal.net January 2026
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