UNSPSC 42311512: Gauze sponges

In this classification, this commodity indicates a product used as a surgical sponge made of gauze used in a medical setting. US FDA regulates Gauze sponges under 21 CFR 880.2740 and under FDA product code LWH. Most nations, for tariff and trade purposes, schedule these products under HS 300590.

UNSPSC 42311512 Gauze sponges is a Commodity code that covers medical and first-aid consumable supplies sourced by state and local government agencies through both direct procurement and cooperative purchasing vehicles. While the code's nominal scope encompasses sterile and non-sterile gauze products used in emergency response, healthcare delivery, and occupational-safety contexts, recent state and local procurement activity under this code shows minimal direct visibility; the single recent opportunity tagged to it is a Sourcewell cooperative RFP for Law Enforcement Equipment that does not substantively target gauze sponges as a primary commodity line. Issuing bodies that source gauze sponges typically include state departments of health, county emergency management agencies, municipal fire and EMS departments, school districts with health services operations, and regional transit authorities maintaining first-aid inventories. Cooperative purchasing vehicles like Sourcewell and other state-level cooperative contracts serve as the dominant procurement channel for this commodity, allowing participating jurisdictions to leverage pre-negotiated rates and standardized supply agreements.

The Sourcewell RFP #061626 (posted May 12, 2026, response due June 16, 2026) represents a multi-state cooperative initiative spanning Washington counties (Franklin, Grant, Grays Harbor, Chelan, and Yakima) alongside numerous other U.S. and Canadian jurisdictions, establishing a broad law-enforcement equipment contracting solution available to governmental agencies, school districts, tribal governments, and nonprofit entities. The cooperative structure suggests that gauze sponges and related medical supplies may be bundled within larger law enforcement equipment packages rather than procured as standalone commodity lines. Recent activity under this code concentrated within the Pacific Northwest and through Sourcewell's Minnesota-based cooperative platform does not indicate robust standalone demand signals for gauze products; buyers evaluating this code should monitor cooperative purchasing amendments and school district health-services RFQs for clearer visibility into actual gauze procurement volume and frequency.