Why are nitrile gloves so hard to find?

Disposable gloves are an essential product of the healthcare industry. They help keep physicians, nurses, laboratory technicians, and other staff safe from viruses and bloodborne pathogens.

Are you interested in learning more about 4.5g Blue Disposable Nitrile Gloves? Contact us today to secure an expert consultation!

A critical shortage of nitrile gloves emerged during the pandemic. Strangely, it has persisted much longer than anyone anticipated. It has driven latex and nitrile glove prices through the roof.

This article goes over the reasons for that and offers some light at the end of the tunnel. The information below can help you better understand what is going on with delays in disposable glove manufacturing. It also will help you know what to expect in the months to come so that you can plan accordingly.

What Are Nitrile Gloves?

There are many different types of disposable medical gloves made from various materials and with distinct designs. Understanding the differences between them, and the advantages they offer is critical. It can help you determine which is best for your medical environment.

Vinyl Gloves

Vinyl gloves come from a petroleum-based film, the same used in PVC. They are very inexpensive to manufacture. This helped make them the go-to option for hospitals and clinics through most of the 19th century.

However, vinyl gloves are the least durable type of disposable glove. When stretched, they become porous, causing their protective capabilities to break down.

For this reason, the medical industry has moved away from vinyl gloves. The only exceptions are for uses where there is little or no danger of contamination (i.e., applications where you want to keep your hands dry or clean).

Latex Gloves

Due to inadequacies in vinyl gloves, latex gloves rose to prominence in the s and s. They are very effective at protecting against bloodborne pathogens. For this reason, their increased use in medical settings corresponded to the advent of the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

One disadvantage of latex is that some people are allergic to the material. This prevalence has led to increased demand for latex-free alternatives.

Nitrile Gloves

In response to increases in allergic reactions to latex, nitrile gloves came onto the scene in the s as an alternative. Nitrile is a type of synthetic rubber. It comes from butadiene (an organic gas condensed into a liquid) and acrylonitrile (a synthetic compound in the production of plastics).

Nitrile gloves are durable and unsusceptible to most biological and chemical hazards. They also are the most puncture-resistant glove available. For these reasons, they are the most widely-used glove in the healthcare industry.

Reasons for Disposable Glove Scarcity and Increased Prices

Healthcare professionals use latex and nitrile gloves to keep them safe from microorganisms. This helps reduce the spread of illnesses or infections. Everyone from surgeons to nurses and general practitioners use them on a regular basis.

There are several moving parts that initiated and have contributed to the worsening of the latex and nitrile glove shortage. These can be condensed to an issue of supply and demand&#;&#;an increase in global demand during COVID while manufacturers reached maximum output. Here is a breakdown of that dynamic.

Increased Need During COVID

The need for nitrile gloves spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic as hospitalizations skyrocketed. This is one factor that initiated the disposable glove shortage, from which we have yet to recover.

COVID led to an increase in clinic and hospital visits. It also meant a beefing up of personal protective equipment (PPE). Medical staff were taking every precaution to ensure protection against the spread of the virus.

Increased General Clinic and Hospital Visitation

While COVID kicked off this crisis, it is not the only factor responsible for the glove shortage and subsequent price increase. For decades, there has been a steady uptick in the number of people visiting clinics and hospitals.

This is due to both population growth and innovations in medicine that help people live longer. It also means an expanding geriatric population in the United States, who are more likely to need medical care than younger people.

Limited Access to Rubber

A final variable in the glove shortage has to do with limitations on materials. Rubber trees are the main source of material for both latex and nitrile gloves.

They only grow in warm, tropical climates. Almost all of the rubber used in medical gloves come from either China or Malaysia.

The lack of alternatives in available manufacturers has exacerbated problems associated with disposable glove shortages. It means that customers cannot shop around at different companies for a better price tag. They are essentially forced to pay the asking price or go without the product (which is not an option in most clinical or laboratory settings).

Factories that supply rubber to glove manufacturers have been working to increase capacity. However, this relief is not immediate. There is much speculation about when this lag will be assuaged, but the hope is that new rubber production could have an impact as early as late .

Disposable Glove Alternatives

It is worth mentioning that the disposable glove shortage has prompted clinics to look for alternatives. These include reusable, multi-use gloves or glove shells that cut down on the need for disposal.

There are downsides to these, however. One is cost&#;&#;you can expect them to be much more expensive than disposable gloves. Another is increased labor in handling and caring for reusable gloves.

There are other things clinics can do to help mitigate issues with the shortage. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has laid out some guidelines that can help you navigate this crisis.

Learn More About the Nitrile Glove Shortage (and Solutions)

Now that you understand the causes of the nitrile glove shortage, you can know what to expect going forward. While you cannot control the disposable glove market, you can be informed as possible to plan for the future.

LIFEMEDZ was founded with the mission to make medical supplies affordable for anyone who needs them. We want to make sure all healthcare staff have access to essential items without worrying about costs. Reach out to us today to learn more about how we leverage our relationships with manufacturers to make that happen.

If you work in an industry where adequate hand protection is essential, you&#;re likely wondering, &#;Where can I buy nitrile gloves?&#; &#; especially if you need more than a few pairs at a time

Or you may assume that the company that supplies your other equipment and materials is the best option for your nitrile disposable gloves.

If you need a box or two, that assumption may work fine. But often, these suppliers don&#;t offer the best prices, and even a difference of a few dollars per case might add up to a whole lot of squandered profit in the long run.

Furthermore, these suppliers often don&#;t provide the same quality or selection as specialty retailers like Gloves.com. When buying nitrile gloves for worker or customer safety, such as those used by healthcare workers or in food preparation, having the highest quality option best suited for your needs is paramount.

Luckily, we&#;ve been sourcing and selling disposable gloves of all kinds for 30 years, and we know where to find the best selection, quality, and prices for gloves used in all sorts of workplaces. Below, we&#;ll review the best places to buy nitrile gloves so you can choose the supplier that fits your needs.

Nitrile Gloves: Where To Buy

1. Dedicated Online Retailers like Gloves.com

The best option when buying nitrile disposable gloves is an online nitrile glove distributor, like Gloves.com, especially if you&#;re wondering where to buy nitrile gloves in bulk. We believe the best option among online nitrile glove distributors is Gloves.com.

At Gloves.com, we specialize in disposable gloves, including both nitrile gloves and latex gloves.

We&#;ve been around since , which has allowed us to form longstanding relationships with manufacturers and material suppliers worldwide. These relationships help us provide top-quality nitrile gloves with far less markup than other retailers.

Stocking up helps you save even more with our wholesale discounts. When you buy in bulk, you get a lower price per case, plus free shipping on orders over $99.

But don&#;t think our affordable prices mean we&#;re skimping on quality. We only work with the most trusted suppliers, and third-party laboratories vet their products to ensure they meet our exacting standards.

All of our nitrile disposable gloves are powder- and latex-free to avoid cross-contamination and irritating latex allergies.

We carry a wide selection of nitrile disposable gloves, including nitrile gloves with textured fingertips, puncture-resistant nitrile gloves, and medical-grade exam gloves. Many of the gloves we carry are also resistant to chemicals and oils.

Our nitrile gloves range in thickness from 2.8 mil to 10 mil so that you can get just the right balance of tactile sensitivity, durability, and safety for your needs.

We also carry a range of colors, including blue, black, and purple.

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We carry nitrile disposable gloves in sizes from XS to XXL to ensure a secure, comfortable fit. The right fit is essential for your comfort and ensuring that the gloves don&#;t tear or slip off when you need them most.

If you&#;re unsure what you need, you can draw on our extensive knowledge base to help you figure out suitable gloves for you and your operation.

Our thorough blog is full of helpful guides packed with the information you need to pick the right gloves, like whether you need sterile or non-sterile gloves and information on the difference between industrial and medical-grade gloves.

If you prefer to talk things out with a person, our helpful, experienced customer service staff is ready to give you a hand. We pride ourselves on knowing what a wide range of industries need from our nitrile gloves, including tattoo artists, cleaning and sanitation professionals, and healthcare workers.

In addition to Gloves.com, other options in this category include GloveNation, Glove America, and My Glove Depot.

2. Online Medical, Industrial, and Scientific Supply Companies

The medical, industrial, and scientific industries are among the top consumers of nitrile gloves. It makes sense that the companies that provide other supplies to these industries, like Thomas Scientific and London Labs, also sell nitrile disposable gloves.

That makes these suppliers convenient options since you can order your nitrile gloves at the same time that you order other medical, industrial, or scientific supplies.

Aside from specialty glove wholesalers, these retailers are generally your best option for buying disposable nitrile gloves if you need a specialized type or to purchase gloves in bulk.

You might also be able to get custom deals when ordering through a hospital or school that has a relationship with one of these companies.

If not, though, you&#;re likely to wind up paying more than you should. Disposable gloves aren&#;t the primary focus for most of these companies, so they have to charge higher markups to make them worth stocking. These suppliers are also less likely to have the precise thickness, type, or size of glove you need.

3. Big Box Stores

Large retail chains, like Walmart, Home Depot, and CVS, are another convenient option because they often carry other things you need to buy for your business. Plus, you have the option to browse either online or in person. In-person options are usually just a short drive away.

You can often enjoy the convenience of shopping online and then picking your order up in-store the same day or the next day, so you don&#;t have to wait for &#; or pay for &#; shipping.

Generally, these retailers will carry a few good brands at reasonable prices. However, they are consumer-oriented.

In other words, they won&#;t have many (if any) specialty options. Your options will be limited in terms of brands, sizes, colors, and thicknesses, especially if you want to buy nitrile gloves in-store. You can&#;t necessarily count on finding the perfect glove for the job in one of these stores; you&#;ll have to settle for something more middle-of-the-road.

Additionally, you&#;re generally limited to buying in smaller volumes. If these retailers sell by the case at all, cases will typically only be available online, and you probably won&#;t have the option of ordering in bulk.

Even the boxes themselves will typically be smaller than those found at specialty retailers, with only 5 to 25 pairs compared to the 50 pairs you&#;d typically get from a box bought at Gloves.com or a similar distributor.

Be sure to factor that difference in when comparing prices because you&#;ll often find that the price per glove is 2-3 times as high as what you&#;d pay at a dedicated glove retailer.

4. General Online Retailers like Amazon

When it comes to enormous retailers, Amazon is in a class all its own. It stocks a little (often a lot) of almost everything, including nitrile gloves.

And since Amazon&#;s products don&#;t have to compete for shelf space, it can offer a far more extensive selection of thickness and size options than consumer retailers like Home Depot.

The flip side is that Amazon&#;s selection is so large that it&#;s not always easy to figure out which item you need. If you&#;re not sure what thickness or style of nitrile gloves is best for your work, Amazon offers no guidance, even though its options are overwhelming.

It&#;s also hard to count on the quality of Amazon&#;s gloves &#; well-established brands and dubious knockoffs are listed side-by-side. There&#;s none of the quality assurance you get from a dedicated glove retailer with a well-established network of suppliers.

Also, while Amazon&#;s prices are reasonable compared to lab supply companies or big box stores, the company doesn&#;t provide the discounts you can get when you buy nitrile gloves in bulk from a retailer specializing in such products.

5. Local Hardware and Drugstores

If you like to buy locally, check out your neighborhood hardware stores or pharmacies. Most will have at least one or two kinds of nitrile gloves for sale.

This option offers some of the same advantages as a big box store &#; the gloves available should be from trusted brands, and you can pick them up the same day you shop instead of waiting for them to arrive in the mail.

Unfortunately, you&#;ll also have to deal with many of the same drawbacks. You won&#;t have the option to buy nitrile gloves in large quantities or choose between more than a handful of brands.

In fact, a local shop will generally have even fewer color and thickness options than a major chain, and their prices will likely be higher. You also likely won&#;t be able to buy in bulk in-store.

With that said, store management may be willing to cut you a deal and make special orders to get a higher-volume sale and, hopefully, more high-volume sales in the future. However, you&#;re still limited by what they&#;re willing and able to do for you and the wholesalers they can access.

Furthermore, like at a big box retailer, staff members at local stores are unlikely to have any specialized knowledge about disposable gloves, so you&#;ll have to do your own research to determine which ones are right for your business.

When you&#;ve got a small or short-term job, and you only want one or two boxes of nitrile gloves, buying from a small store might work out just fine. Those with more specialized PPE needs and who are changing gloves frequently will probably want to look elsewhere.

Local stores generally won&#;t have the same options as larger or online retailers, and what they do have will generally be priced higher.

Conclusion

Nitrile gloves can be hard to find today because of the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and recent disruptions to global supply chains.

When the global health crisis erupted, ordinary people suddenly had a reason to buy the kind of protective equipment that only healthcare workers used in the past. At the same time, hospitals faced vast numbers of patients to treat, so they began to go through supplies much faster.

While the pandemic has receded, the general public remains more health-conscious than before. Companies worldwide also continue to face logistics issues that can interfere with shipping, making it harder to get nitrile gloves into customers&#; hands.

Thanks to our robust relationships with numerous nitrile glove manufacturers, we can still offer a vast range of nitrile gloves at affordable prices and provide the knowledge and resources you need to find the perfect pair.

Stop by our product page to get the disposable nitrile gloves that will keep you and your customers safe at the price that&#;s right for you.

Contact us to discuss your requirements of White Nitrile Exam Disposable Glove. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.