Cleaning products make our workplaces and homes safer by removing potentially hazardous dirt, grime, germs, and assorted detritus from the environment. But what about the people doing the cleaning?
Hazards are part of the daily routine for janitorial and sanitation workers, who must deal with potentially harmful chemicals that can be found in cleaners for glass, metal, and other substances, including hydrofluoric acid, nitrilotriacetate, and phosphoric acid.
In today’s marketplace, measuring the quality of products is inescapable.
Buy something online? Oh, look—you got a survey email. Send in a product registration card? You, too, are the lucky recipient of a survey. Go to your doctor? A survey is not uncommon. Simply have lunch at your favorite fast-food establishment? Guess what—they want your opinion too.
Avoiding cross-contamination and the spread of bacteria in food service establishments is a perennial struggle. Washing dishes, pots, and pans at high temperatures, and thoroughly cleaning and sanitizing all surfaces, are common and effective means of combating germs and assorted microorganisms.
One of the most important defenses against food poisoning, however, is proper handwashing. Hands can spread germs in both the kitchen and the dining area; some of these germs, like salmonella, can make employees (and, even worse, customers) sick. Washing hands frequently with soap and warm water is an easy way to limit the spread of germs.
Last in a series
Currency has real impact on disposable glove prices. The currency exchange rate has been favorable to U.S. buyers in the single-use glove market the last few months, with a strong dollar trading at its highest rate in 20 years. If the dollar should stumble, glove prices are likely to feel upward pressure.
That is why it’s important to monitor international markets closely. If you hear the dollar is weakening, be prepared—and prepare your customers for what could lie ahead.
Second of four parts
Pre-pandemic, China was a minor player in the nitrile disposable glove market. Post-pandemic, it has substantially grown its overall nitrile production capacity and is expected to grow it further.
In the single-use glove industry, factories—especially in Malaysia, the world’s No. 1 glove-producing nation—continue to have utilization challenges, with some operating at as low as 20% capacity, and others in the 40%-50% range.
Now that 2024 has arrived, we’re a year further from the pandemic. Multiple trends are continuing to impact glove market conditions, from pricing of NBR (nitrile butadiene rubber) and PVC (polyvinyl chloride) to logistics, energy, and coal prices.
Overall, disposable glove use in the United States continues the upward trajectory it has been on since the 1980s. The market is projected to experience healthy growth throughout the next decade, again proving to be an excellent business opportunity.
AMMEX wishes you the best of prosperity and success in the new year!
In 2024, we expect the disposable glove market to continue to grow and develop. We expect the same factors we’ve always believed in to be important again: fill rates, quality control, high compliance standards, and superior customer service.
Have you ever had a situation where a customer needed a glove—and you couldn’t get the right size, or color, or mil thickness?
Maybe they were on backorder. Maybe something more complicated was involved, like labor issues at the factory or the port.
In the food service market, price can be an outsized factor for single-use gloves. With a lot of eateries operating on razor-thin margins, operators often must be frugal.
At the same time, safety and hygiene are paramount when working with food. That makes disposable gloves much more than simple accessories—they are vital tools in preventing contamination and ensuring the safety of both staff and customers (and, ultimately, the business).
The disposable glove industry is not widely known for its dedication to customer service.
That is, of course, not a universal statement; many vendors have good, even great, relationships with customers. For the most part, though, the disposable glove industry is where one business sells a commodity to another: It’s purely transactional.
