The Evolution of Disposable Gloves

5553PF Grease Monkey® – 15 mil latex glove

Latex is derived from plant-based rubber, which means it’s natural and biodegradable. Latex gloves are often referred to as a “second skin” due to it being soft, flexible, and fitting close to the skin, which allows greater precision and dexterity for applications that require it. The all-natural material however, can cause allergic reactions, which can range from irritation and rashes to the possibility of anaphylactic shock. In addition to the rubber, the powders used on the gloves can cause allergies and discomfort.

Latex gloves are also weak to chemicals, which can erode the surface of the glove and dangerously get to your hands. And latex gloves are prone to punctures and a tiny hole caused by something sharp can be undiscoverable to the naked eye, which can invite chemicals and biohazardous material to seep into the glove. Although latex gloves are still worn by many professionals, most others in the industrial field  have transitioned to nitrile gloves.

5555PF Grease Monkey® – 8 mil nitrile glove

First introduced in the mid-1990s, nitrile gloves were an alternative to those who needed to use rubber gloves but were allergic to latex. Nitrile is a durable, synthetic rubber, also known as acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber, and aimed to be stronger and more durable than latex. Its application can be seen in many different fields, such as food handling, janitorial and recycling, automotive, and gardening.

Compared to latex, nitrile has excellent resistance to chemicals and punctures. When nitrile gloves do get punctured, they’d exhibit a tear, as opposed to a tiny hole that’s disguised, which help wearers identify that the glove is unsafe for usage. Additionally, technology has advanced so that nitrile gloves are more comfortable, thinner and offer better dexterity. It’s especially great for longer wear, as nitrile forms to your hands’ shape over time.

Watson Gloves’ Green Monkey™ biodegradable nitrile gloves help solve the problem regular nitrile gloves suffer from – it reduces the time it takes for disposable gloves to decay in anaerobic landfills. And this is not just parts of the glove that’s biodegradable – the whole glove is biodegradable thanks to our innovative Reclaim™ additive, which breaks down much quicker in landfills than regular nitrile gloves. Whereas regular nitrile disposable gloves take more than 200 years to break down, all gloves in our Green Monkey™ line take only 8-11 years to break down (ASTM D5526).

The shelf life of Green Monkey™ is not affected, as the gloves only start to biodegrade when they’re in landfills conditions. And once the biodegradation process starts, the Reclaim™ additive in the Green Monkey™ nitrile gloves ensure that they do not just break down into smaller plastic pieces but are also converted to biogas similar to other organic materials (otherwise called anaerobic digestion). Producing biogas naturally turns waste into energy, which helps create a circular economy. All of this is done without the performance and quality of our gloves being affected in day-to-day usage.

Nitrile is here to stay but a large majority of nitrile gloves come from by-products of fossil fuel. Watson Gloves is always advancing the glove industry in sustainability and innovation, and the new textured, thicker 8 mil and 6 mil Green Monkey™ biodegradable gloves push the mark for disposable gloves. As we continue to grow our Green Monkey™ line and other sustainable products, we believe making our disposable gloves biodegradable without the compromise in quality is the next step in better disposable gloves – for your hands and for the environment.