The dangers of fentanyl have been widely reported. The drug, developed in 1959 as an intravenous analgesic and anesthetic, is one of the most abused synthetic opioids in North America and a primary driver of overdose deaths among young people.
First of three parts
The disposable glove market continues to have several unique cost drivers impacting the industry. Factories have reduced the number of production lines from pandemic highs, increasing utilization rates and reducing excess supply. Raw materials, from chemicals to synthetic rubber, are rising in cost. Other drivers, such as labor supply in Southeast Asia, packaging material increases, logistics, and a weakening U.S. dollar, are also playing a role.
Anybody who uses hand protection is well aware of the potential dangers on the job—or they likely wouldn’t be wearing gloves at all. Thousands of injuries occur nationwide every year. Maybe at your facility it’s one or two. For the folks that happened to, of course, that’s one or two too many.
Billions of disposable gloves are sold every year as companies do whatever they can to protect their workers. Are most of them sufficient? Probably. Are a substantial portion of them Gloveworks Nitrile with Raised Diamond Texture? Frustratingly, no—RDT, as we affectionately call it, in fact makes up less than 1% of the overall glove market.
Sustainability is getting plenty of attention these days, and rightfully so. It’s not some marketing-driven buzzword foisted upon the public in the last few years; its roots go back to ancient times. Environmental problems like deforestation, soil loss, and salinization were topics of discussion for Egyptians, Mesopotamians, Greeks, and Romans.
We love the fact that our customers are not easily satisfied.
That has been one of AMMEX’s central tenets over our 35-plus years in business. It prevents taking anybody for granted and motivates us to do whatever it takes to keep customers happy.
AMMEX has been importing disposable gloves for more than 35 years. We have established policies and procedures to ensure consistent quality that meets all required standards, but we take it one step further by performing in-person inspections of every shipment before it leaves the factory.
This isn’t a common practice in the disposable glove market, but at AMMEX we took the proactive approach of setting up a team of highly trained glove professionals to catch issues early in production.
Choosing the right disposable gloves for janitorial and sanitation jobs takes a bit of work—but in the long run it’s definitely worth it.
One would think it should be pretty straightforward. Find one you like (nice color? good fit?) and try a box. It either works or it doesn’t.
It’s the law of supply and demand: Workers in businesses across the industrial spectrum depend on disposable gloves to safely perform their daily tasks. They order, take delivery, and wear them on the job. Rinse and repeat. It’s commerce, the way it’s supposed to work.
Where the equation gets interesting is determining which vendors can always deliver the gloves needed, when they’re needed, at scale, without backorders or other roadblocks. That’s where fill rates come into play.
In medical use, double-gloving—wearing one pair of gloves over another—is commonplace.
Healthcare professionals, always looking for extra protection from bloodborne pathogens, germs, viruses, and bacteria, have long double-gloved when the fear of contamination is high. In the early days of the pandemic, even with widespread glove shortages, an extra pair of gloves was seen not as an extravagance but a necessity.
Last of four parts
Since 2020, China has significantly increased its prominence in the disposable glove industry, emerging as a pivotal player in the global market. This rise is attributable to the needs generated by the pandemic, of course, but also to robust manufacturing capabilities, strategic investments, and evolving global trade dynamics. It has enabled China to showcase aggressive pricing and ramped-up capacity to compete head-on with SE Asia manufacturers.
