What to consider when choosing gloves.
When shopping for work gloves, what would you guess is the first buying factor that comes to mind? Very often, people respond with 'price', which just goes to show how overlooked or underappreciated glove longevity is. Many businesses mistakenly choose gloves based on price only, ignoring the benefits of durability.
Divert Landfill
The disposal of P.P.E. without considering its environmental impact and proper waste management practices has become a growing concern across the country. It's no longer a secret that landfill is impacting climate change and contributes toward the increase of greenhouse gases. To give you a brief idea, here are some impacts that landfill can have on the environment.
- Sending waste to landfill results in the production of CO2 and Methane, both of which are greenhouse gases and contribute toward global warming.
- Deforestation is carried out to make room for landfill sites, destroying habitats and depriving the areas from a source of carbon absorption.
- Hazardous chemicals, gases, toxins and microplastics can leak from landfills and mix with the soil and groundwater, thereby contaminating it and endangering the lives of plants, animals and humans.
Are you trying to reduce your carbon footprint? The longer your gloves last, the healthier our planet stays! Gloves that deteriorate quicker result in significantly higher amount of waste going to landfill, which leads to an increased level of CO2 released into the environment. So be sure to inquire about the durability before you purchase a work glove.
Reduced Expenditures
It's almost a given that quality gloves are slightly more expensive and are more cost effective over the long term than poor quality gloves that are cheaper, simply because they last longer! Gloves that last longer translate to less inventory turnover costs. For example, a pair of safety gloves that costs $20 and lasts for 2 months work out at $2.50 per week. A pair of safety gloves that costs $10 and only last one week are already less cost effective despite the huge differences in upfront price!
Less Downtime
Safety gloves that last longer are going to result in less downtime. If your safety glove fails prematurely, disposing of the gloves, going to the stockroom to get a new pair, ordering more and then waiting for them to arrive are tasks that require little time, but it does really all add up! In addition, it's a substantial safety hazard to carry out tasks without wearing the correct P.P.E., or any P.P.E. at all, which can be costly to a company.
Investing in quality hand protection that boasts longevity is a much easier route than purchasing cheap safety gloves that don't last half as long and are much likelier to leave you stranded.
Less Storage
Using long lasting gloves is quite simply going to mean that less storage space will be required to host hundreds of additional safety gloves. Think about it this way. If you're going through 15 pairs of gloves a month opposed to 2 pairs, your workplace is going to have to allow for the extra storage of the reserve gloves. This may not be an issue depending on how much storage you have available to you, but if you are lacking, this would be a factor to consider.
Safety glove longevity saves you money long term, so it's worth considering. With that said, hopefully this has provoked some pondering and opened your eyes a little with regard to the relationship between longevity and sustainability. If you're looking for safety gloves that have good longevity and durability, eco-MDSassociates.com is a good place to start.
