Unlike latex gloves, nitrile and vinyl gloves do not come from natural rubber. These gloves come from synthetic materials, but the manufacturing process is not too different from latex glove production. 

The processes for creating the nitrile and vinyl materials is similar.

Nitrile gloves are made using a material called nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR). This substance is a copolymer derived from the bonding of two molecules: acrylonitrile and butadiene.These molecules are specifically important for the performance and quality of the gloves: acrylonitrile enhances chemical resistance, and butadiene creates flexibility and tear resistance.

The Production Process

Once the NBR are created, they go to the factory for production. This process has multiple steps that are relatively similar to the production of latex gloves, with a few exceptions:

First, the manufacturing equipment runs ceramic, hand-shaped forms through water and bleach to clean them and remove residue. Once the forms are dry, they are dipped in a calcium carbonate and calcium nitrate mixture to help the synthetic materials coagulate around the forms.

Next, the forms are dipped in tanks of NBR. The gloves are then heated at a high temperature to form the gloves as they dry.

When manufacturing Nitrile gloves, two additional processes may be used to improve glove donning: polymer coating and chlorination. Polymer coating involves adding a layer of polymer to lubricate the glove’s surface, whereas chlorination exposes the glove to a chlorine acid mixture to make the material harder and slicker.

The last phase of the production process is called the stripping phase, in which the gloves are taken off of the forms.

After production, the gloves go through quality assurance testing to ensure that they meet regulatory standards by the FDA and other health organizations. From there the gloves are shipped to distribution facilities to be received by customers.