Proven Success At Reducing Hand Injuries Generates Significant Market Demand

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Ironclad Performance Wear Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: ICPW), a leader in high-performance gloves and apparel, and Orr Safety, a leading distributor of industrial safety equipment, today announced the release of the first task-specific glove for the oil & gas industry designed in cooperation with an industry safety committee organized by the worlds largest petrochemical producers.

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Under the terms of a twenty-year exclusive licensing and distribution agreement between Ironclad and Orr Safety, Ironclad designs and manufactures the patent-pending KONG(TM) (King of Oil N' Gas(TM)) line of task-specific safety gloves; while Orr Safety has responsibility for all marketing, sales and distribution of the gloves on a worldwide basis.

"Hand and finger damage are the most common workplace injuries in the petrochemical extraction industry. The KONG glove, with its Impact, knuckle and full-finger protection, represents a quantum leap forward in workplace safety and injury reduction", said Kent Pachl, Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Ironclad. "Response from the industry has been extremely positive, with several case studies of avoided or reduced hand injuries having already been reported."

The KONG glove has been in development for more than a year, with the first market trials of 60,000 pair occurring during the past ninety days. Ironclad, Orr Safety and the industry safety committee are already in the process of designing extensions to the original KONG glove, including winter and waterproof versions.

"Market acceptance for the KONG glove has been beyond expectations,: said Clark Orr, Vice President of Strategic Planning for Orr Safety. "These gloves set a new standard for workforce hand safety, and are able to perform exceptionally well in the severe environment of an oil or gas field. We're very pleased that we can bring this glove to the market."

Under the minimum purchase obligations of Orr Safety, the agreement represents a more than $55 million dollar business opportunity for Ironclad over the next twenty years. Concurrent with the execution of the licensing and distribution agreement, Orr Safety has submitted purchase orders for 120,000 pair of KONG gloves to be delivered over the next six months.

For information about the KONG glove, please contact Orr Safety at (800) 669-1677.

About Ironclad Performance Wear Corporation

Ironclad, which created the performance work glove category in 1998, continues to leverage its leadership position in the construction and industrial markets through the development and introduction of specialized task-specific gloves for industries, such as oil & gas exploration and automotive. With its focus on innovation, design, advanced material science and durability, Ironclad engineers, manufactures and sells a comprehensive line of task-specific gloves and performance-fabric apparel. Ironclad's products are available at hardware stores, home centers, industrial suppliers, lumber yards, and sporting goods retailers nationwide; and through authorized distributors throughout North America, Europe, Australia and Asia.

For more information on Ironclad, please visit www.ironclad.com.

Information about Forward-Looking Statements

This release contains "forward-looking statements" that include information relating to future events and future financial and operating performance. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which that performance or those results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time they are made and/or management's good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in or suggested by the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause these differences include, but are not limited to: fluctuations in demand for Ironclad's products, the introduction of new products, Ironclad's ability to maintain customer and strategic business relationships, the impact of competitive products and pricing, growth in targeted markets, the adequacy of Ironclad's liquidity and financial strength to support its growth, and other information that may be detailed from time to time in Ironclad's filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. For a more detailed description of the risk factors and uncertainties affecting Ironclad, please refer to the Company's recent Securities and Exchange filings, which are available at www.sec.gov. Ironclad undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

    Contacts
    Ed Jaeger, CEO
    (310) 643-7800 x106

    Chris Miller, Director of Marketing
    (310) 643-7800 x127

SOURCE Ironclad Performance Wear Corporation