China Personal Protective Equipment Expo | New Mandatory PPE National Standards Take Effect
The China Personal Protective Equipment Expo notes that personal protective equipment is undergoing a large-scale update of national standards.
In 2025, the State Administration for Market Regulation and the Standardization Administration of China jointly released 49 mandatory standards, of which 42 focus on personal protective equipment, covering eight major protection categories. This represents the largest round of industry standard reform in recent years. The new regulations establish a 12-month transition period, with formal implementation on September 1, 2026. A small number of standards will be deferred for later enforcement. A large number of previously recommended standards have been upgraded to mandatory requirements, reshaping the compliance framework for the entire PPE production, procurement, and usage chain.
This round of updated standards covers eight major protection categories, with each category receiving newly defined mandatory control indicators. Four respiratory protection standards have been upgraded, with two types of air breathing apparatus converted to mandatory standards, strictly controlling airtightness and impact resistance. A new national standard for compressed air purity fills a regulatory gap, while also mandating the full process of equipment selection, maintenance, and decommissioning. Head and eye-face protection standards are the most numerous, with safety helmets and anti-static helmets brought under mandatory management; rescue helmet standards have been deferred to 2027. Performance indicators for welding, laser, and intense light protection equipment have been updated, and even workshop emergency eyewash and shower equipment now has mandatory requirements for flow rate, corrosion resistance, and maintenance.
Hearing protection introduces unified mandatory requirements for earplugs, earmuffs, and their proper usage, clearly defining noise reduction performance, replacement cycles, and noise scenario adaptation rules. Hand protection distinguishes between cut-resistant, cold-resistant, and high-temperature resistant gloves, establishing minimum performance baselines for puncture resistance and thermal insulation based on working conditions such as slaughtering and high-temperature processing. Foot protection adds a dedicated standard for anti-puncture inserts, with basic indicators for safety shoes including impact resistance, anti-smashing, and electrical insulation all becoming mandatory.
Fall protection completes the full set of standards for safety nets, safety belts, self-locking devices, and descent control equipment, strengthening core performance in load-bearing, locking, and energy absorption, while unifying inspection and decommissioning rules for high-altitude protection equipment. Body protection standards have expanded significantly: existing specifications for chemical and microwave protective clothing have been upgraded, with newly added mandatory provisions for cold-resistant, insect-proof, flame-retardant, rainproof, sandblasting, and mechanical processing-specific protective clothing. New standards for the management of particulate matter and thermal protective clothing usage have also been introduced, adapting to various special operation risk scenarios.
After the new regulations take effect, relevant industry stakeholders must implement compliance work at different levels. Production enterprises must use the transition period to complete product iteration, review qualifications, and update test reports. All products shipped after September 1, 2026, must fully comply with the new standards. Procurement parties such as factories and construction units must update their procurement lists, verify product national standard numbers and compliance certificates, and eliminate non-standard, low-configuration products from being put into use. Enterprise safety management must establish a closed-loop system for equipment issuance, inspection, replacement, and decommissioning, conduct position-specific training, maintain complete records, and achieve full traceability of protective equipment to respond to regulatory inspections.
The comprehensive implementation of mandatory national standards in 2026 marks the personal protection industry’s shift from a rough model of simple equipment provision to standardized, refined compliance management, with stricter safety supervision in high-risk industries.
Source: https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/afOPamw2UhUJYxROn98NEA?from=industrynews&color_scheme=light
