Today, most of the popular disposable gloves on offer are made out of three materials, Nitrile, Vinyl, and Latex. While they can be used in many common functions and tend to differ somewhat in price, when it comes to using gloves every day or medical or food handling activities it’s important to understand which material will suit you best. Recently, more industries have been opting for Nitrile gloves over Latex, mostly due to the increasing prevalence of latex allergies leading many to search for a latex-free alternative. Whatever kind of disposable glove you need, Pro-val offers a comprehensive and varied line of gloves to suit a wide range of uses.
Australian safety requirements in medical fields or food-handling processes are quite stringent and institutionalised nationally. Be sure that when shopping for gloves for commercial food-handling or medical use that the product you’re considering meets the following prerequisites regardless of the materials used:
- Is listed on the Register of Therapeutic Goods
- Has a HACCP Australia Food Safety Certification
- Made of Synthetic rubber
- Great alternative for those with a latex allergy
- Tears and punctures are easily visible
- Good for chemical and petroleum applications
- Great puncture resistance, a benefit for medical and industrial environments in particular
- Popular glove choice in mechanical, chemical, and arts & crafts uses
- Available in food safe and medical or examination varieties
- Can be textured for improved grip
- Ambidextrous design, no need for left and right specific gloves
Why choose Nitrile Disposable Gloves:
Ideal for handling a bigger variety of liquids or materials, or any job where a resistance to tearing is necessary.
- Lower cost, great for use when high unit usage is anticipated
- Material resists oils, fats and greases
- Latex free and perfectly safe for people with a latex allergy
- Some varieties come with medical and/or food grade certifications
- Ultra soft resin vinyl available, which resembles the feel of latex
- Ambidextrous design, no need for left and right specific gloves
Why choose Vinyl Gloves:
Cost effective for daily and high disposing use, and great for avoiding allergies.
- Made of natural rubber
- Good for biological and water based application
- Have a stretchy close to skin feel, good tactile sense
- Are mostly biodegradable, which can be a good option for the eco conscious
- Popular glove choice in medical or surgical environments
- Can have a long cuff for increased protection
- Available with textured surface for improved wet or dry grip
- Available in foodsafe varieties
Why choose Latex Gloves:
Ideal and simple for medical environments, comfortable in high movement activities, and more environmentally friendly.
It’s also worth considering in each product whether the glove is Powdered or Power-Free. More common in latex varieties, they assist putting the gloves off and on which is ideal in regular use and food handling environments, where the powder is natural and corn-starch based and safe around food. As a downside however this can feel messy, and attribute to allergies. Often, during the manufacture of the glove powder is removed rather than added, which is why powder-free varieties tend to cost a little more. It’s also worth considering what the hands will come into contact with after use to try and avoid leaving the powder substance on certain surfaces.
For more information about our product credentials, please search our official RCR International licensing at TGA for medical use or HACCP for food handling ability. For more details on which glove types suit all kinds of chemicals, please see our below table.
