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Category: Automotive & Transportation

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5 Key Reasons to Use Lightweight Nitrile Gloves Instead of Vinyl

Glove comparison chart.

Most vinyl gloves are made in China, and tariffs have made those much more expensive.  Now may be a time to shift from vinyl disposable gloves to lightweight nitrile.  Nitrile offers several advantages: performance, safety, environmental impact, and user comfort.

Here’s an outline of the five key benefits:

1. Enhanced Protection and Performance

Nitrile gloves are more resistant to a wider range of chemicals, oils, and solvents than vinyl gloves. They are also more puncture-resistant than vinyl gloves, improving durability and protection.

2. Improved Comfort and Fit

Nitrile conforms more closely to the hand, providing a snug, comfortable fit and greater dexterity compared to gloves of similar thickness. The ergonomic fit of lightweight nitrile gloves helps minimize strain during extended use. Like vinyl, nitrile is latex-free but without the associated loss of stretch and comfort seen in vinyl.

3. Sustainability

Lightweight nitrile gloves are more durable and longer-lasting than vinyl gloves, which may require frequent changes and more gloves to complete the same task. Nitrile also has better aging properties than vinyl, reducing product waste from expired stock.

4. Regulatory and Industry Compliance

Nitrile gloves meet more stringent standards (e.g., ASTM, EN) for medical and industrial use and have fewer issues with chemical ingredients that are more common with vinyl.

5. Cost Efficiency Over Time

Nitrile gloves are more durable and reduce the need for frequent replacements, improving cost-effectiveness and sustainability. Nitrile gloves are suitable for a broader range of tasks, reducing the need for multiple glove types in one facility.

In sum, lightweight nitrile gloves offer a superior choice for hand protection. AMMEX provides a broad range of options in lightweight nitrile, such as X3 Industrial Blue or Black Nitrile Gloves and AMMEX Professional Exam Blue Nitrile gloves.

Check out our previous post about the benefits of lightweight nitrile here.

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Gloveworks ULTRA™ Adds a New Layer of Comfort for Automotive Workers

Gloveworks® ULTRA® Adds a New Layer of Comfort for Automotive Workers

It may be surprising, but not all auto workers use hand protection. According to OSHA up to 70% of hand injuries are experienced by workers who do not wear gloves. Gloves are relatively new in the automotive space – only 20-30 years ago, using disposable gloves in the automotive industry was a bit of a novelty.  Mechanics routinely worked on cars, even with chemicals, using their bare hands while cleaning them with solvents after the job was done. Things have changed radically, and auto mechanics using disposable gloves for hand protection is not the rule, but the exception. Plus, disposable glove options consistently improve, as evidenced by the launch of Gloveworks ULTRA™ Industrial Orange Flock-lined Raised Diamond Texture gloves.

Due to consistently being on the list of most injury-prone jobs, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, automotive workers are now more aware of the dangers of chemical exposure. More importantly, most auto mechanics have been using disposable gloves since school. They understand the need for hand protection and simply feel it’s easier and safer to wear gloves than not.

At the same time, wearing disposable gloves may not always be comfortable.  After extended wear, hands can get sweaty, challenging work and requiring frequent glove changes. Fortunately, disposable gloves continue to evolve offering improved dexterity, outstanding grip, and, more recently, flock lining for overall comfort during wear, donning, and doffing.

Gloveworks ULTRA overview video

Gloveworks ULTRA™ offers the benefits of a Raised Diamond Texture (RDT) grip, high visibility, and flock lining for keeping hands dry. “Customers in various industrial market segments, especially in automotive, often complain that gloves make their hands sweaty and are uncomfortable to wear for extended periods,” says John Friend, a sales leader at AMMEX. “With this new Gloveworks ULTRA™ product, we address this key customer need with flocked lining while adding a Raised Diamond Texture pattern to help improve grip and durability compared to standard market options.”

The overall purpose of Gloveworks ULTRA™ is to help automotive customers keep their hands dry longer. With the new flock-lined technology, we encourage more customers to try these gloves and feel the difference. Learn more about Gloveworks ULTRA™ at gloveworks.com/ultra.

Check out a previous blog post bout Gloveworks ULTRA™ here.

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Q2 Market Update: Tariffs and Production Costs

Q2 Market Update: Production Costs

Third in a series

Our Q2 Market Update covers the potential impact of tariffs, but we were never under any illusion that it would age well with all the rapid news and changes.  As of mid-May, while many reciprocal tariffs remain on hold, last week, the US and China announced a reduction in tariffs, with US tariffs on China reduced to 30% for 90 days.

We expect the tariff news to continue and news around this topic to remain dynamic. However, when it comes to disposable gloves, many other factors that impact glove production costs continue to develop. Raw material costs remain the most significant expense category, accounting for a large portion of total disposable glove production costs.

Nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR), a primary component in nitrile gloves, could experience supply constraints due to production shifts out of China, maintenance at major chemical facilities, and increasing competition from the automotive and construction industries for nitrile-based gloves.

Meanwhile, manufacturing bottlenecks are appearing as production facilities are challenged with labor costs, rising energy costs, implementation of new quality control measures in the wake of regulatory changes, and technological transition challenges as manufacturers upgrade equipment.

Price volatility for natural rubber latex has decreased due to a balanced supply from Southeast Asian producers. NBR prices, however, remain elevated due to continued strong demand and petroleum price fluctuations. The price spread between natural latex and nitrile has narrowed compared with historical averages.

Another key variable is energy, which represents up to a growing portion of production costs and has significant regional variations. Among the cost factors are electricity prices, with manufacturing facilities in Southeast Asia facing 5-7% higher electricity costs compared with 2024.

What happens with tariffs will continue contributing to all the abovementioned factors. Besides the direct added cost, tariffs may also reshape the existing trade routes, leading raw materials, labor, and products to move in different ways in the future. Stay tuned for more updates.

Download our Q2 Disposable Glove Market Update.

Missed our first post of the series: Q2 Market Update: Tariffs Take Centerstage? Check it out here.

Missed our second post of the series: Q2 Market Update: Logistics Always a Factor? Check it out here.

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Q2 Market Update: Tariffs Take Centerstage

Q2 Market Update: Tariffs Take Centerstage

First in a series

As we progress into Q2 2025, the disposable glove market and the rest of the business world are fixated on the impact of tariffs. Naturally, this is one of the main topics for our Q2 Market Update and will continue to be dynamic throughout the coming weeks.

As of mid-April, the U.S. government has implemented tariffs of up to 145% on all products from China and 10% on products from across the globe. It appears to be using the potential of additional tariffs as leverage or a tool to remake trade agreements worldwide. However, that may further scramble supply chains and trade flows that are already changing as companies seek alternatives to China as the source of their goods.

Experts say the result could be a domino effect of protectionism, with countries turning inward and raising tariffs in response to American trade barriers. The upheaval could also generate a new cast of regional alliances and ultimately reduce the importance of the United States in trade with Asia.

The disposable glove market is likely to feel the impact of trade wars simply because over 90% of production is outside of the United States and is beholden to global supply and logistics networks.

Download our Q2 Disposable Glove Market Update.

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Disposable Gloves and Sustainability – What’s the Impact?

As disposable glove use has skyrocketed over the last three decades, evaluating sustainability options for them has become increasingly important, almost fashionable.

Of course, it would be interesting to imagine gloves that magically vanish after use or could be recycled on a grand scale.  There’s much conversation surrounding gloves’ biodegradability, recyclability, or compostability. However, at least for now, these efforts may be largely impractical. To summarize, here are some of the solutions that are often marketed as sustainable and that may border on greenwashing:

  • Biodegradable gloves are a nice idea, but most solutions do not meet proper biodegradability standards in states such as California.
  • Compostable gloves, even when they meet the requirements, often require specialized commercial composting facilities, which are not universally accessible.
  • Recycling gloves are frequently unfeasible due to limited availability, high cost, and contamination.

Even if some of these materials and practices were to become more feasible, more than 99% of gloves sold worldwide do not involve them. Their impact is just too small to measure.

The more immediate impact of improving the sustainability of disposable gloves is less about the “glamourous” promises of new materials and more about impacting the overall CO2 emissions during their production and transportation. Due to their peculiar supply chains, hundreds of billions of gloves are transported worldwide.

AMMEX – Commitment to Impact on Sustainability

Our focus is on measurable, reportable, and auditable environmental sustainability. By aligning reduction targets with climate science, we are concentrating efforts on reducing emissions. The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) has approved AMMEX’s near-term science-based emissions-reduction target: We commit to a 42% reduction in our operational carbon emissions (from a 2022 baseline) by 2030.

We are committed to long-term measurement and review of our approach to sustainability. As always, efficiency in transporting disposable gloves will remain a priority, even without established benchmarks.

For more information, visit our website or download our sustainability report. By focusing on emissions within our supply chain—areas we can directly influence—and collaborating with our manufacturers to minimize their impact, AMMEX aims to drive a meaningful impact on disposable glove sustainability.

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For Industrial Hand Protection, Gloveworks Nitrile Is the Solution

It’s safe to say that in the manufacturing industry, hand protection is a priority.

From working with machinery to encountering chemicals and hazardous materials to protecting products from contamination, single-use gloves factor into just about any scenario that involves making things. Some jobs require specialty protection like extra-thick neoprene, cut-resistant, or “armored” and padded work gloves, but just about everyone needs some degree of hand safety.

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