Latex Glove Uses and Overview
What makes our latex glove so special? – Glad you asked
Excellent feel like no other glove. Latex gloves are known for their comfort, fit and elasticity.
Superior barrier protection – from bacteria, viruses and fungi. The excellent barrier protection of Natural rubber latex gloves is the main reason why they are used and trusted by doctors and healthcare professionals.
The EN 374-5:2016 test (viral penetration test) of our latex gloves confirms this.
Environmentally friendly & Biodegradable. Latex gloves are environmentally friendly and do not pose toxicity risk to the environment because they are made from the Natural rubber tapped from Rubber trees called Hevea brasiliensis. Their decomposition time is short and assimilate back to nature in a span of few months whereas its counterpart nitrile glove take years.
Low Carbon Footprint- Natural rubber latex is tapped from the rubber tree early in the morning. Apart from rubber composition in the glove, the rest in it is chemicals to promote rubber crosslinking to provide it strength and elasticity. On the other hand, nitrile latex is a synthetic derivative of petroleum gone through rigging and fractional distillation of crude oil. All of this requires large amounts of energy making the carbon footprint of nitrile gloves very high. To use a green glove that offers everything you need and is safe to use is the latex glove.
Food contact gloves- Latex gloves are a product of natural rubber processing making it highly safe to use with food. The chemicals used in latex glove processing are safe and pose no risk to the human body. You can feel free to touch your food by wearing latex gloves or nitrile gloves if that is your choice. You can confirm this by the overall migration test.
Chemical handling & PPE gloves- Latex gloves also does pretty good in term of protection against chemicals. Chemical protection of latex gloves can be found out by the EN 374-1:2016 test. The permeation and degradation test of latex gloves will give you a fair idea of the protection level against specific target chemicals you intend to handle with latex gloves. Nitrile gloves have a slight edge over latex gloves in the handling of specific chemicals. Hence if you are handling serious chemicals, it is best to know by test results of which gloves to choose for with certain chemicals to ensure maximum protection of your hands.
Excellent shelf life- If stored and kept properly away from sunlight at a cool or room temperature, Latex gloves can last from 3 upto 5 years.
Surplus availability of Natural Latex raw material. Malaysia, Thailand, Burma, Indonesia and India boast surplus plantation of natural rubber trees. Thailand and Malaysia being one of the oldest rubber tappers produce excellent quality latex for glove production at a much lower cost than synthetic nitrile latex.
Manufacturability of Latex gloves of varying specifications- Latex gloves can be manufactured to suit your needs and application. Specifications can include:
1.) Higher glove weights and thickness,
2.) Colored gloves, mainstream gloves produced is white color.
3.) Scent of the glove
4.) Longer length gloves that give higher hand protection against spillage and withstand integrity against dangerous chemicals.
Latex gloves has usage in many segments such as
- Beauty Salons
- Dental clinics and Hospitals
- Household gloves for heavy duty cleaning jobs using Acids and bases,
- Industrial use thick and long gloves for greasy Mechanic work in the automotive industry,
- Personal Protective Equipment (PPE gloves) where chemical handling and risk of spillage is concern,
- Food handling gloves of food grade requirements
- Clean room gloves :- Hard disk manufacturing and semiconductor industries where it is used in clean room applications where electro static charge is a concern. Happy Hands gloves can manufacture various kinds of gloves of different specifications as per requirements of use.