Besides the tremendous consumption of medical gloves in hospitals and clinics, the global pandemic encompassing the world since 2020 has fueled the production and direct sales of the products among government agencies, private healthcare providers and consumers.
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The global market for medical gloves has been changing gears since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. It is no surprise that the COVID-19 outbreak has greatly changed the masses' perspective of the risk of infection transmission. The use of PPE kits, which is otherwise reserved for healthcare workers, has now spread to the general population. As a result, most of all the medical gloves have now become an essential source of protection from SARS-CoV-2 infection, for both the front-line warriors as well as the general public.
According to a report published on PubMed Central, medical gloves are used by healthcare workers to reduce microbial contamination from hand contact with blood and other fluids, thereby alleviating the risks of transmission from the medical staff to the patient or vice versa. Yet, during the COVID-19 crisis, medical gloves are expected to help the general community when being in contact with the COVID-positive patients, while taking care of the individual.
Globally, medical gloves market size is expected to surge to $13.5 billion by 2026.1
Malaysia’s leading glove producers, Top Glove, Supermax, Hartalega, and Kossan, announced investing $97 million towards government efforts for making purchase of COVID-19 vaccines and health equipment to help the world fight against coronavirus.2
In the US, with more than 30 million active COVID-19 cases in the country, the Biden administration sustained the Defense Production Act to upscale the production of medical gloves, and other essential kits and COVID-19 medical help in an effort to increase the supplies and reduce long-term dependence on foreign suppliers.3 With such initiatives onboard, the demand for medical gloves is expected to soar to new heights in 2021 and beyond.
Disposable medical gloves: addressing the infection scare
Disposable gloves outline the primary component to serve a longstanding need for cleaner practices and barrier protection in healthcare. Although used across diverse industrial sectors today, the prominence of disposable gloves is largely observed across the medical industry.
In fact, an estimated 300 billion disposable gloves are being used in the US almost every year.4 Of these, it would not be wrong to announce that latex gloves have been gaining much proclivity not only in the country but worldwide.
Why latex medical gloves?
Latex gloves have stood out as a popular choice of disposable gloves since their inception, due to their robust attributes such as heightened protection and elasticity. The elastic property of these gloves makes them resistant to tearing, thus offering protection against a range of bacterial and viral infections.
What makes latex gloves highly preferred amongst the medical fraternity is that these are considered to be the most contented disposable glove material available in the global market, thanks to their ‘second skin’ feel and snug fit. This feature of the gloves allows the user to perform intricate and complex tasks quite easily.
Not everything that shines, however, is gold. Although latex medical gloves are being increasingly adopted, they carry some hidden limitations. It was observed in a report detailed in PubMed, about 74.5% of the front-line COVID-19 workers developed hand dermatitis among Chinese people.5
Besides, a questionnaire-based study revealed that 88.5% of skin reactions on hands are associated with the use of latex gloves.6
Is coronavirus the only problem the globe is struggling with today?
The answer, is ‘NO’! The waste generated from disposal of medical equipment during coronavirus is perhaps the biggest concern today. Huge heaps for medical gloves being disposed is posing a threat to the landfill pollution across various economies of the world.
Approximately 80 million plastic gloves are being used monthly and disposed of globally.7 This statistic has generated a huge requirement for biodegradable medical gloves for managing the waste. Companies are attempting to address the issue of PPE waste.
One such company is Meditech Gloves. This medical gloves producer and supplier has been working closely with scientists at Britain’s Cranfield University to create a surgical glove that uses natural rubber and has the ability to biodegrade 100x times faster than the extensively used synthetic rubber glove options.
Meditech expects this move to leave a lasting legacy in a market to set to be worth $70 billion by 2027 end.7 Moreover, the production of greener alternatives to rubber and synthetic medical gloves would create 30% less wastage in the years ahead.7
Medical gloves are not new; their demand has been gradually increasing over the past few years. The outbreak of novel coronavirus has significantly spurred their demand in the medical and healthcare market since 2020, and now, the market for medical gloves is set to record brighter prospects in the 2021 and beyond. Higher stocks in pharmacies and easier access e-commerce platforms has fueled medical glove sales among consumers looking to adopt every method of self-preservation.