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Category: Safety

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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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Why Is Working With AMMEX Different?

Last in a series

As we’ve said about the disposable glove market in our Q1 2025 report over the last month, we can report on the most prominent trends—but the timing of what will happen in 2025 remains uncertain.

Regardless, our team continues to focus on areas that can create the most value for our clients and partners when it comes to disposable gloves: fill rates, quality, compliance, and customer service. Specifically:

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