Rubber Journal Asia Gloves Industry While basic, although effective safeguards are recommended such as hand hygiene by washing, new advances in gloves can assure the needed extra protection. US-based company GHS, which develops and produces technical hand wear, launched what it said is a sustainable glove solution offering protection against bacteria and microbes. According to GHS, the BlocAid gloves with antimicrobial and antibacterial barrier are specially designed and engineered with the patented EcoZinc, which is directly embedded into the fibre through an extruded yarn manufacturing process that gives BlocAid gloves self-cleaning properties, inhibit growth of harmful microbes, and that enable the gloves to be re-used and washed multiple times without losing efficacy. GHS said that EcoZinc is generally safe (according to the FDA) and can be ingested, and safely applied topically. The gloves are protective on all levels and are rated UPF 50+ (with an actual rating of 99.996% UVA/UVB 100% protection) daily usage, it added. The US-manufactured BlocAid seamless knit gloves are also touch screen compatible. Another US-based firm, Goldshield Technologies, developed its Goldshield 5, which when applied to medical masks and gloves can reduce Covid-19 exposure for up to three days. Goldshield Technologies first introduced the antimicrobial technology in 2009 to protect users against hospital-acquired-infections (HAI’s). With the Covid-19, Goldshield Technologies is again offering this solution to fight off virus spread. The patented Goldshield 5 underwent independent testing in a study sponsored by Chinese medical mask and glove manufacturer Guilin HBM Health Protections. The study found that Goldshield 5 when applied to PPEs created a residual protective bio-barrier on treated medical masks and rubber medical gloves against the Covid-19 virus. It was found to be effective in killing the Covid-19 virus, and to provide protection for a maximum of 72 hours. On the surgical masks treated with Goldshield 5, the Covid-19 inactivation rate was 99.88% kill rate compared to the control group, with a residual kill rate observed by the researchers for a period of three days. The Goldshield 5 treatment on the medical gloves resulted in the inactivation of the Covid-19 virus at a kill rate of 94.87% compared to the control group, Goldshield Technologies said. It informs that more than 50 independent studies, including three, peer-reviewed, studies published in the American Journal of Infection Control, were conducted to ensure the efficacy of Goldshield 5. Finnish glove maker Hofler Oy has developed a glove with a natural-based treatment that eliminates viruses and bacteria by 99%. The company said that the Hofler Biotech UT gloves with protective function are just as timely now that countries are dealing with the Covid-19 virus.
Malaysian tyre retreading company GIIB is a new entrant in gloves manufacturing through its subsidiary GIIB Healthcare Products
statement. It added that while other manufacturers are working double-time to ramp up production capacity, and new companies are venturing into gloves production, “a structural change in usage of gloves will ensure there is continued and strong demand in the market in the near to midterm”. Similarly, Malaysian tyre retreading company GIIB is reportedly going into gloves manufacturing through its subsidiary GIIB Healthcare Products. In this venture, GIIB is planning to install five double-formers gloves production lines with an estimated production capacity of over 1 billion pieces of gloves/year. The production lines are expected to start up in December 2021. Virus be gone with antibacterial gloves An effective barrier against highly contagious pathogens, healthcare workers and frontliners cannot do without medical gloves. WHO, however, cautioned against complacency in using gloves because they do not provide complete protection against contamination. WHO has explained that pathogens can contaminate the caregivers’ hands via small defects in gloves, or during removal of the gloves. As WHO warns that gloves do not provide complete protection against contamination, new antimicrobial technologies aim to provide gloves with extra protective barrier
4 MARCH 2021
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