Chemical protective or resistant gloves are advanced gloves made of materials that are resistant to chemicals and provide personal protection from transmission of a variety of infections or diseases, especially during industrial work, chemical manufacturing, construction, transportation, medical operations, and a handful of medical examinations. Additionally, they provide antistatic chemical resistance to heat, cuts, impact, and cold.
Chemical protective gloves are utilized while handling hazardous chemicals to prevent infections and allergic reactions to these materials. The usage of chemical-resistant gloves can be restored while decanting substances, cleaning machinery, equipment, or engine parts, replacing toner cartridges, and also while operating with powerful adhesives. Irrespective of the chemical form, it’s integral to wear protective gear while working with harmful materials.
According to Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Code for Federal Regulations 29 states that employers are responsible to ensure that their employees indefinitely use hand protection equipment, specifically relating to chemical protection gloves. These general requirements laid down under this code are intended to provide protection against skin absorption of harmful chemicals, punctures, and chemical burns.
With the assistance of appropriate hazard assessment, OSHA has an obligation to assess work for chemical exposures and provide suggestions based on the type of material required for specific chemical tasks. They assist in enforcing safety procedural standards to promote safety and health in workplaces. It is essential to determine the best-suited material for the chemical protective gloves as per the type of task allotted to the workers. These could vary from materials like latex, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), nitrile, butyl, neoprene, etc.
Rapid urbanization “securing” the chemical protective glove market
The chemical protective gloves market has experienced steady growth from USD 16.1 billion in 2021 and is projected to reach USD 2.4 billion in 2030 at a compound annual growth rate of 6.4% during this forecast period. Rapid growth in the construction, healthcare, and manufacturing industries has directly affected the usage of chemically protective gloves in the market.
Robust growth of industrialization has contributed to the growth of the chemical protective gloves market in chemicals, agriculture, construction, food and beverage, oil and gas, construction, and healthcare industries. With increasingly stringent workplace safety regulations, the government has enforced protection regulations to reduce occupational hazards and risks in the industrial sectors and improve safety standards among workers.
Heavy-duty latex gloves while handling radioactive materials and chemicals provides protection against aggressive chemicals. They offer full forearm protection for hands and skin from perilous chemicals. With optimal usage of these heavy-duty latex gloves, it enables the workers in construction and chemical industries to manufacture materials without hassles, ultimately boosting revenue streams for these sectors.
According to the World Health Organization, infection prevention and control measures are essential to obviate acute respiratory infections, especially in the healthcare industry. The organization promotes adequate supply, proper usage, and maintenance of well-fitted personal protective equipment such as chemical protective gloves, in order to prevent occupational hazards and infections from occurring, ultimately boosting the growth of the chemical protective glove market.
Chemical protective gloves offer secure integrated solutions to chemical, automotive & health workers
Chemical protective gloves are an integral part of ensuring safety standards in end-user industries namely healthcare, manufacturing, automotive and chemical industries. They showcase a sustainable business model for the industries as the material nitrile utilized for the production of chemical protective gloves is biodegradable and environment-friendly. These protective gears consisting of nitrile rubber are popular among chemical, automotive, and healthcare industries.
It is essential to understand the permeation rate, breakthrough time, and degradation stage of the chemical protective gloves to ensure safety from a hazardous range of chemicals. Apart from protection from exposure, they also safeguard workers against minor injuries from other non-hazardous liquids. This is possible with a continuous membraned layer present in the protective glove which does not allow liquids to penetrate through the material. Hence, these gloves are also essential for protection against abrasions, cuts, and punctures among various other minor injuries that may occur during work.
In spite of multiple benefits, rubber latex material utilized in the production of these chemically protective gloves is known to cause skin infections and allergies that may cause irritation of the respiratory tract and mucous membranes. The symptoms of these allergic reactions range from itching, swelling, and redness of the skin to wheezing, difficulty breathing, and severe chest tightness. It is crucial for the producers of chemical-resistant gloves to switch to non-latex or protein latex gloves to avoid lifelong respiratory complications.
Chemical protective gloves regularizing safety standards in workplaces
The competitive leaders in the chemical protective gloves market have consistently expanded their market shares by integrating developments in the industry to excel substantially in the world of rapid urbanization. One of the major examples of technological advancements by leading brands is Honeywell’s Flextril Nitrile chemical protective gloves. The brand for its chemical-resistant gloves was awarded Occupational Head & Safety’s new production of the year and also the World of Safety and Health Asia Award.
Showa has emerged as one of the leading chemical protective gloves suppliers by manufacturing fully integrated industrial hand protection for workers employed in various end-user industries. The brand is observed to operate with the latest technological advancements for renewing focus on creativity and innovation as their marketing strategy. With sustainable approaches in the industrial ecosystem, the brand is leading the market with a coherent and strategic edge over the competitors.
Another one of the brands that is steadily leading the market share is Mallcom which provides various nitrile rubber (NBR) gloves that are ventured into existing markets through their flexible and superior strength attributes. Since the material is oil-based, it is water and toxic-resistant. By offering a variety of specific chemical protective gloves, Mallcom assures industrial workers premium protection with different types of protective gear. These protective gloves include sandy finish, gauntlet, impact resistant, cut resistant, etc.
Prospective Growth for Chemical protective gloves for end-user industries
Fast-paced urbanization has led to substantial prospective growth for various regions like Europe and North America as they have expanded the adoption of green materials and standardized manufacturing procedures, which has subsequently resulted in improving sales numbers for the chemical protective glove industry. Market leaders rooted in these developing countries demand heavy-duty latex and neoprene applications, contributing to the growth of the chemical protective gloves industry.
With regular workplace evaluations, the standards for safety protocols in chemical, automotive, and healthcare industries can be determined accordingly. As the regulations for maintaining optimum levels of safety become increasingly stringent, companies are continually striving to prevent hazardous occurrences at the workplace by mandating the use of chemical protective gloves. This is contributing to expanding revenue streams for these industries, and ultimately promoting the growth of the chemical protective glove market.