The practice of providing safety equipment not only protects the customer, it helps protect the business, he says. If, for example, a customer received an injury that could have been prevented by wearing safety glasses and he files a lawsuit, the business can say protective eyewear is always issued.

Another way to add profit is displaying PPE on or near the sales counter. Gloves, for example, are often an impulse buy, reports Ryan Malone, general manager of Youngstown Glove Co. "You would be amazed at how many gloves sell just because they are near the counter where the orders are written," he says.

Manufacturers often will include a display for free when a store buys a certain volume of PPE or spends a specific dollar amount. Just by keeping a glove display stocked, Malone predicts gloves will sell. Rental stores have told him that glove sales can net $500 to $2,000 in a year.

The biggest value in PPE sales, however, is raising safety awareness, he says. When someone is renting a hedge trimmer and a rental store employee suggests a pair of cut-resistant gloves, he says that's not an up-sell.

"That's a safety sell," he says. "At the end of the day, we all want to be safe. You're telling your customer that you are concerned with their safety, reminding them they should use all equipment with great caution and giving them the things they need to protect themselves." 