Note On PPE

We have a very large number of new products available, most of which are in our new 2020 catalogue which was finished just before the lockdown, and which we are now sending out with orders. Not knowing at the time how bad things were going to get, we included a full range of personal protection equipment. Gloves, ear defenders and helmets are available as normal, but our long-term supplier of face masks and goggles is asking TEN TIMES the prices we were paying at the start of the year for new stock. We feel that this is profiteering by someone or probably several organisations in the supply chain, and that by paying these inflated prices we would be encouraging profiting from human suffering. Therefore, although we know there is demand for these products, until they are available again at fair prices which bear some relation to the cost of manufacture, we will not be stocking any face masks or goggles.