What is Nitrile? - The Glove Company

Nitrile vs Latex vs Vinyl

Nitrile Disposable Gloves Facts:

Nitrile has the lowest allergy rate of any glove material on the market
Accelerator Free Nitrile gloves are available which are the most comfortable glove for everyday users
Extremely high chemical resistance, strong puncture resistance and bio hazard protection
Nitrile gloves can easily be donned without powder
Nitrile gloves have become more affordable, and today they are on par with Latex glove prices
Historically Nitrile gloves did not match latex on levels of “stretch” but over the years Nitrile has become more stretchy and flexible than ever before
Nitrile material is food safe, and is the glove material of choice for the food industry (Always check your nitrile gloves are food safe)
Nitrile gloves can be biodegradable
Nitrile glove demand and usage around the world is rapidly increasing every year because of Nitrile Disposable gloves superior features.

Summary – Nitrile disposable gloves can be used in almost any industry, with little to no allergy issues for about the same cost as Latex gloves.

E.g. TGC Black Nitrile Disposable Glove – The World’s Toughest Disposable Glove

Latex Disposable Gloves Facts:

8 – 17% of all US health care workers have Latex allergies, users of Latex gloves in other industries experience similar reactions
If you wear latex gloves every day you have a high risk of eventually developing a latex allergy or dermatitis
Latex gloves can be difficult to don without powder, and the powder adds to the skin irritation and allergy problems.
Latex gloves are made almost entirely from natural rubber (the rubber they make car tyres with), a commodity that is subject to large price movements
Moderate chemical and puncture resistance, meaning their principle market is the medical industry
High levels of bio degradability and no issues with incineration for glove disposal
Worldwide sales of Latex gloves have been on a steady decline for the last six years

Summary – The best application for latex gloves is medical with proven protection from bio hazards like bacteria and viruses, however the need for a second glove alongside remains inescapable because of allergies.

Vinyl Disposable Glove Facts

Vinyl Disposable Gloves are PVC Gloves. The same PVC known to create large volumes of toxic chemicals when manufactured, like dioxin and vinyl chlorides.
A PVC glove contains approximately 50-60% PVC, the other 50-40% is made up of plasticisers that make the PVC soft enough to wear
The most common plasticiser used in PVC gloves is phthalates DEHP this substance is currently under much scrutiny for its toxicity. (DEHP has been banned from use in children’s toys around much of the world)
The use of Bisphenol and Benzisothiazolinone in the manufacture of PVC gloves is also known to cause allergic reactions and dermatitis with prolonged use
Unlike Nitrile and Latex gloves the PVC glove molecules are not cross-linked leading to more holes in the glove film and high levels of bacteria and virus permeation
PVC takes a very long time to break down (many decades), and if incinerated, large amounts of toxic emissions are generated
All the materials to make PVC gloves are non-renewables namely oil
Are extremely cost effective

Summary – Vinyl Disposable Gloves are cheap to make and cheap to buy, but at a high cost to user health and the environment.

Vinyl Glove boxes green and blue

To Powder or Not To Powder?

Powder in disposable gloves is basically a historical leftover whose only purpose was to enable the user to don gloves so they didn’t break. This was essential when the only glove you could buy was Latex. Now, unless you have wet hands, every time you don a pair of gloves there is no need for this irritant to be in the glove. This is particularly true for Nitrile gloves because they are so much stronger than Latex and Vinyl.

Conclusion

The ongoing use of Vinyl gloves is a short-sighted decision for both the user and the environment, especially when there are some great alternatives in Nitrile and Latex at minimal to no additional costs. Although Latex will continue its use in the medical field for some time yet, the use of Nitrile disposable gloves across all market sectors worldwide will continue to grow in the coming years due to the strong features and minimal drawbacks of Nitrile material.