Latex gloves are a vital product for a wide range of industries, used by doctors, nurses, tattooists and hairdressers and many others in between. They provide vital protection for thousands of people every day, but have you ever wondered how they are made?
Latex is a natural substance which can be harvested from a wide range of plants; it is found in around 10% of all flowering plants, and is tapped and harvested by cutting the bark and attaching a channel which guides the latex into a waiting receptacle. Throughout the areas which are climatically suitable for large-scale latex production, there are plantations where the trees are tapped at regular intervals to harvest the latex without damaging the tree. Latex will naturally coagulate, so if it is destined for the production of products like latex gloves it must be quickly processed to ensure that it remains liquid. Latex which has coagulated is used to make lower-grade rubber products.
At the glove factory, the latex will be combined with phenols, special chemicals which are designed to stop the latex from degrading and give it more strength. For coloured latex gloves, dyes will also be added.
Special forms in the shape of a hand (and, for longer gloves, the arm) are used to make the glove itself. For different sized gloves, there are different sized forms. These forms are dipped into the liquid latex, coating the form. The machine which dips the forms will often give them a spin to shake off any excess drops, and then the gloves are allowed to dry and harden.
Because latex allergies are often caused by the proteins in natural latex, a rinsing process is used to reduce these proteins and to remove any extra chemicals. Latex gloves may also be powdered; this makes them easier to put on. Once these processes are complete, the glove can be removed from the form.
The gloves are checked for quality, by selecting a random sample and checking them for even the tiniest holes and defects. The amount found in a sample of 100 determines their AQL or Acceptable Quality Level – this must be no more than 1.5 to meet medical quality standards.
The gloves are then packaged and ready for sale!
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