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Your hands are arguably your most valuable work assets. As vital human tools used for grasping, feeling, creating, lifting, holding, and manipulating, our hands enable us to carry out an incredible diversity of occupational and recreational tasks.
Proper hand protection is therefore non-negotiable for many workplace settings and activities where hazards exist. Wearing inadequately designed or poorly fitted gloves can also hamper productivity and worsen risks of strains and repeated stress injuries.
With so many variables to consider from materials to manufacturing methods, selecting the right glove for the right application can be a complex decision. This is especially true for safety managers and procurement officers tasked with sourcing gloves across a diverse workforce.
The following guide breaks down key need-to-knows for investing in high performance safety gloves manufactured to the highest standards. I will be mainly focusing on the below popular categories in demand:
Glove Anatomy: Materials, Coatings, and Construction
All gloves share a similar anatomy consisting of the front palm side that covers the palmar region of the hand, the reverse backhand side, and separate sleeves for each finger and thumb. Beyond these basic commonalities, work glove construction, and composition can vary enormously.
Materials used include leather, woven and knitted textiles, rubber, synthetics, metal mesh, and combinations thereof. Coatings such as polymers like PVC, latex, nitrile and neoprene may also be applied to the glove exterior or liner for boosting chemical, moisture, thermal or cut resistance.
Leather Work Glove Materials and Manufacturing
Leather is a highly versatile natural protein fiber material prized for its inherent flexibility, abrasion resistance, and durability. Leather gloves are made from cow, pig, sheep, goat or deerskin hide which is tanned to stabilize the material.
Popular tanning processes used by manufacturers include:
- Chrome tanning using chromium sulfate salts – produces supple soft leather work gloves
- Vegetable tanning using plant derived tannins – produces thicker, hard wearing leather gloves.
Key steps in cut & sew leather glove manufacturing include:
- Cutting patterns and panels
- Sewing panels together by machine or hand
- Attaching safety cuffs
- Customizing fit with elastic, Velcro straps or adjustable wrist closures
Coatings like PVC or nitrile may be added for liquid proofing and chemical protection.
Sports and Fitness Glove Materials
Sports and fitness gloves place high priority on flexibility, ventilation, grip and control. Manufactured materials tend to be lightweight, thin and breathable for minimal interference and sweat absorption. Popular materials include:
- Spandex/Lycra blends – Exceptional stretch and rebound. Used for fabric liners.
- Mesh fabrics – Highly breathable and moisture wicking. Strategically placed for ventilation.
- Silicone – Printed or dotted on palms and fingers for grip.
- Terry cloth – Very absorbent wrist cuffs and thumb pads prevent sweat dripping.
- Neoprene – Dense synthetic rubber for impact protection in boxing and weight lifting gloves.
Knit cotton work gloves utilize interlocked cotton, polyester or acrylic loops created by specialist automated knitting machines.
Key attributes include:
- Excellent dexterity from stretchy snug fit
- Improved ventilation and moisture absorption over leather
- Launderable for reuse and cost effectiveness
- Lower durability vs leather with less abrasion resistance
Cut & Sewn Fabric Safety Gloves
Fabric and textile glove panels are die cut then sewn together, allowing for immense design flexibility. Mixing materials gives hybrid benefits like:
- Coolmax® moisture wicking vented backs with silicone gripped palms
- Kevlar® cut resistant fabric overlays on high abrasion zones
- Thermal resistant aramid fabrics like Nomex® for insulating welder’s gloves
- Steel wire mesh inlays for slash and puncture proofing
This versatility let’s manufacturers optimize gloves for the right balance of protection, grip, cooling, and dexterity needed in the intended wear situations.
Key Criteria When Selecting Safety Glove Manufacturers
With such a vast array of potential safety glove materials and constructions to choose from, the manufacturing quality matters greatly. Here are top criteria to consider when evaluating work glove makers:
Industry Experience and Reputation
- Long track record in consistently delivering high performing and innovative hand PPE solutions.
- Positive feedback from customers and industry associations like Hilton Enterprises.
Breadth of Glove Technologies and Applications Expertise
- Diverse range caters to various trades, environments and risk exposures.
- Capability to provide hybrid gloves blending protective elements like liquid proof coated abrasion resistant palms with knitted breathable backs.
Quality Control and Consistency
- Stringent inspections of incoming materials and finished products using statistical quality control sampling.
- Reliably uniform production standards minimizing defects.
- Conformance to key international safety certifications for cut resistance, chemical permeation etc.
Responsible Sourcing Practices
- Procures leather from tanneries with ethical animal welfare policies.
- Employs robust supplier auditing procedures.
- Makes corporate social responsibility a priority.
Customization for Specialized Applications
- Offers made-to-order glove design and sizing services.
- Experience clothing hands of unusual size/proportions.
Competitive yet Fair Pricing
- Reasonable economic value for the levels of technical performance and protection gloves provide.
- Open to negotiating bulk and long term supply cost savings.
By partnering with manufacturers that rate highly across these performance categories, you can be assured your workers hands will be well cared for.
Helpful Tips for Buying the Best Work Gloves
Beyond supplier selection factors, the key to maximizing hand safety through gloves also depends greatly on choosing designs appropriately matched to hazard exposures and wearer physiology.
The Importance of Proper Fit:
An often overlooked aspect vital for comfort, protection and preventing accidents is ensuring gloves properly fit each individual’s hands. While standard sizing charts based on hand circumference or palm width measurements can get the fit close, variations in dimensions like finger lengths and knuckle sizes can still cause looseness or tightness issues with pre-sized gloves. Some key disadvantages of poorly fitting gloves include:
- Excess movement leading to skin chafing and protective stitch seam failure.
- Reduced sensitivity and grip control making objects more likely to slip from grasp.
- Insufficient cuff tightness allowing liquids to drip or dust ingress increasing skin irritation.
For optimal precision, some manufacturers offer custom measuring and glove sizing services tailored to each employee’s hand anthropometry using 3D scans.
Alternatively, many glove designs incorporate adjustable wrist straps, elasticized backs or longer safety cuffs to help fine tune fit.
Buying Quality Gloves Is an Investment in Safety:
Assuming all environmental and individual use case factors have been duly considered in product selection, an inevitable question arises around glove pricing.
In some applications like cleaning or food handling where gloves experience considerable abrasive wear and tear or contaminant build up, lower unit cost disposable options changed daily or weekly may suffice.
However for most other workplaces where gloves are reused over longer terms before showing much degradation, investing a little more upfront for premium quality models is wise. This helps maximize hand protection and glove life cycles while minimizing total cost of ownership.
Over their extensive collective experience supplying safety gloves globally, manufacturers have dispelled any perceptions of a stark trade off between first price versus performance.
Thanks to economies of scale and production efficiency advancements, even many mid-high tier technically advanced glove options made with the very best leathers, fabrics and coatings remain pleasingly affordable today relative to replacement costs if substandard gloves were to fail.
In Summary
- Prioritizing hand safety pays dividends for workforce well-being and maintaining productivity relied upon by businesses to prosper.
- Matching glove selections to working conditions and wearer physiological characteristics is key to maximizing protection.
- Conducting due diligence checks on manufacturing quality gives confidence in glove reliability.