Your PPE Budget Is Bleeding: The Hidden Cost of 'Just Buy the Cheapest Coverall'

It starts with a price tag

I've been managing PPE purchasing for a mid-sized construction company since 2023. When I took over, my boss gave me one directive: "Find ways to cut costs." Easy, right? I started with coveralls. We go through about 200 sets a year across our crews. I found a supplier offering a "heavy-duty" coverall for $18.50 a pop. Our regular Portwest ones—the Iona coverall—cost around $30. Simple math, I thought. That's a $2,300 annual saving.

But when our site foreman called me after the first week—guys complaining the zippers caught, the sizing was totally off (even the size XL men's seemed tighter than a large should be), and two pairs split at the knee mid-shift—I realized the real costs hadn't even started. My quick win was about to become a very expensive lesson.

So, what's actually going on behind that low price? It's not just about a cheap product. There's a whole ecosystem of hidden costs that most procurement folks—myself included, until I learned the hard way—don't account for.

The surface problem: "Coveralls are coveralls, right?"

When you're ordering coveralls for a crew, the surface-level question is simple: does it meet the basic specs? Is it high-vis? Is it flame-resistant? Does it have enough pockets? The assumption is that if a product claims to do the job, it's just a matter of comparing prices. I see this all the time in our industry. People think, "It's a coverall. It covers. End of story."

But here's where the trouble starts. The problem isn't the product itself—it's the experience of using it. And that's where the real cost lies.

The sizing disaster

Let's talk about the Portwest Iona coverall. It's a well-known product, and it comes in a size range that's pretty reliable. But when you buy a generic "size XL men's" from a discount vendor, you're not getting the same thing. I learned this the hard way. The $18.50 coveralls had inconsistent sizing. The same labeled size fit differently across different colors. For a crew of 20 guys, that meant three returns, two exchanges, and a bunch of angry phone calls from the foreman. That lost me about six hours of admin time alone.

According to our HR records, we processed roughly 60 PPE orders last year. Standardizing on a single reliable coverall—like the Portwest Liverpool zipper coverall—cut my reorder and exchange time by nearly 40%. But you don't see that on a unit price chart.

The deeper cause: You're not buying a coverall, you're buying compliance and comfort

The real issue is that our industry often conflates "product specs" with "fitness for purpose." A cheap coverall might meet the same ANSI/ISEA 107 standard for high-visibility, but that doesn't mean it works for your crew. The deep problem is that we're trained to look at paper compliance, not real-world outcomes.

I'm not a safety engineer, so I can't speak to the technical specifics of fabric weave or stitch strength. What I can tell you from a procurement perspective is this: a coverall that doesn't fit right is a coverall that doesn't get worn. I've seen guys just leave the top unzipped or wear it half-open, which completely defeats the purpose. That's a safety violation waiting to happen.

The other deep cause? Low price often means corners cut in pattern design and QC. A Portwest Iona coverall has a deliberate pattern that allows for movement. The cheap one? It's just squares. That's why you get the knee-splitting and zipper jams. The product might pass a CE test, but it fails the real test—a guy bending over to pick up rebar.

The cost of getting it wrong: More than just a refund

Now, let's talk about the real numbers. That $2,300 I thought I'd save? Here's how it actually played out:

• Returns and shipping: Return shipping on defective coveralls: $120. Restocking fee: waived by the vendor but I had to pay for the replacement batch's express shipping: $95.
• Admin time: My hourly rate (including overhead) is about $35. I spent 8 hours on emails, phone calls, and processing returns: $280.
• Lost productivity: Two guys couldn't work for half a day because their coveralls ripped. The cost of idle labor: $600.
• Foreman's time: He had to spend 2 hours sorting out replacements and calming down the crew: that's another $70.

Total additional cost from that one batch: roughly $1,165. So my $2,300 "saving" turned into maybe $1,100 in real savings. And that's before you count the frustration and the hit to my reputation with the crew. As one veteran said: "I'd rather wear a Portwest that fits and lasts than a cheap one that I have to fight every day."

That unreliable supplier made me look bad to my VP when the crew complained. Not a good look.

So, what actually works? A different way to think about PPE purchasing

Look, I'm not saying you should always buy the most expensive option. But I've learned that value is about total cost over the product's life, not just the unit price. Here's what I do now:

• Test a sample batch. Before committing to a full order of a new coverall, I buy a few samples in different sizes (just the size XL men's won't cut it—you need to check the range). I give them to our foreman to test over a two-week period. The crew's feedback is worth more than any spec sheet.
• Consider the cost of fit. A Portwest Iona coverall in the right size fits most of our crew without issues. That means fewer returns, less hassle, and higher compliance. The price per unit is higher, but the cost per worn unit is lower.
• Don't ignore the intangibles. Stuff like ease of ordering (we use Portwest's online portal—super straightforward), consistent quality, and reliable delivery. A missed delivery from a cheap supplier cost us a site inspection delay once. That was a $500 penalty.

Personally, I've standardized on Portwest for coveralls (both the Liverpool zipper and the standard Iona) and a few other items. It's not because I'm a brand loyalist. It's because the total cost of ownership is lower, and I don't have to worry about surprises.

In the end, covering the cost of a coverall is easy. Covering the cost of a mistake is hard. And the people who tell you to just compare unit prices? They've probably never had to explain a deficit to their finance director.