Gloves - What is the difference?

Over the past 5 years, there has been an enormous surge in the prices of all types of gloves, such as vinyl, latex and nitrile. This is due to the increases in raw materials, manufacturing and environment challenges. This blog is set out to describe the different reasons for this and to educate you on all things gloves…

To help gauge which protective gloves are most useful in different situations, listed below are the advantages and disadvantages of each raw material, this is to make it easier for you to decide which gloves are best for you!

Why do we need gloves?

In many situations, gloves can be vital to someone’s health and safety. When working with hazardous chemicals or anything harmful for that matter, it is extremely important to use gloves. They protect our hands from any injury, infections or becoming contaminated. Nitrile gloves are usually the gloves used to protect an individual against most chemicals and infectious agents. 

Nitrile Gloves

Nitrile is often used as a latex alternative for those who have a latex allergy; it is a synthetic rubber compound, which is formed by carbon and nitrogen atoms. Butadiene is the main molecule used in the production of nitrile rubber. However, in the last few years a significant increase in Butadiene’s price has been noticed. In September 2016, Butadiene’s price per ton was averaging around £720; it is now costing between £1500-2000 per ton.

Advantages of Nitrile Gloves:

• Nitrile gloves are up to 3 times more puncture resistant than latex gloves - this makes them the preferred glove in work places such as hospitals or environments where there is a high risk of exposure to blood borne pathogens or other environmental contaminants.
• Nitrile gloves are often referred to as Medical Grade; this means they have undergone series of tests to ensure they are suitable to be used in these conditions.
• This material is known for having a lower level of friction meaning they can be worn for long durations of time. Again, this is good for medical purpose like surgeries and procedures where individuals may need to be protected by these gloves for a long period.
• Due to nitrile being a manufactured substance, it means the price of it remains stable unlike latex. This is because things such as changes in weather and climate cannot affect it. Being machine-made gives nitrile a longer shelf life than some other forms of disposable gloves meaning there is less possibility of waste.

Disadvantages of Nitrile Gloves:

• As there are several different types of materials used to make disposable gloves, nitrile gloves have been proven to be “better” than latex. However producing synthetic nitrile rubber is a lot more expensive than the produce of vinyl gloves, which is another type of raw material used in manufacturing disposable gloves.
• Nitrile gloves are a lot less tactile than latex, the sensitive is limited because of the nitrile material making it more difficult to feel objects easily.

Vinyl Gloves

Vinyl gloves are made from synthetic material polyvinyl chloride (PVC). They provide a heavy-duty glove that is commonly used in rougher activities. This means they are an excellent option in the food and beverage industry. Also a popular choice in many household and commercial applications.

Advantages of Vinyl Gloves:

• As well as being highly affordable, they are great for low-risk tasks in short durations, this includes professions such as hairstyling, house cleaning, assisted living work etc. They are suitable for use as a protective barrier against low-risk bodily fluids, dyes and detergents.
• Vinyl gloves are waterproof making them a very popular choice in gloves for places such as nurseries, hairdressers and even in your home. They are still highly protective but should be used for less serious scenarios.
• These make of gloves are an ideal choice, as they are latex-free and usually the cheapest.
• Another advantage of vinyl gloves is that they are anti-static meaning they are good for high dust environments, they are useful for activities such as cleaning and decluttering.

Disadvantages of Vinyl Gloves:

• One of the biggest disadvantages of vinyl gloves is the minor protection. They should not be worn for long periods and offer little protection in chemical resistance. They fit loose and are a lot less flexible than latex and nitrile gloves, this can make them very uncomfortable.
• Majority of vinyl gloves are manufactured in China, these manufactures equate to over 50% of the global demand. Across Beijing and much of North-Eastern China there was severe smog/pollution caused by factories, this meant they were forced to shut down as highways had to close and airlines had to cancel flights. Chinese government closed down 1200 vinyl gloves factories overall. Because of these forced closures, there was a significant impact on vinyl glove production and supply.

Latex Gloves

Unlike Nitrile and Vinyl, latex is a natural compound made from rubber trees. White, milky liquid is taken when the trees are scored and processed into latex.

Advantages of Latex Gloves:

• Latex gloves provide a high degree of movement and comfort, the physical properties of the rubber latex makes the gloves extremely elastic and resistant to tearing.
• Latex gloves offer protection against a range of hazards such as biohazard (bacteria and viruses) and certain chemicals.
• This type of disposable gloves are considered the most comfortable material that is available. Because of their snug fit and skin feel, this allows people to perform complex tasks that require a high degree of touch sensitivity.

Disadvantages of Latex Gloves:

• Latex allergies are one of the main disadvantages of latex gloves; it’s not uncommon to be allergic to latex however, it does mean that there is a large group of customers who are unable to purchase this certain type of glove.
• As Latex is a natural substance, several different problems can arise because of this. One of these is the weather, rubber tree plantations flood regularly due to excessive rainfall.
• Latex is currently at the highest market price in history, for every 2% increase in the cost of raw latex; there is a 1% increase in the cost of a glove. In the past year, costs have increased by 97%, resulting in 49% surge in production cost of latex gloves.

So which glove is better?

Nitrile gloves are usually everybody’s first pick… They are known for their high quality and stability. The protection they give against all things germs is one thing that catches buyer’s eyes! However, to decide which glove is “better” would be wrong. Disposable gloves can be used for many different things, as spoken about in this blog. This is why there is no superior glove, whatever glove you choose to use will depend on the task you are completing.