Kimberly-Clark Health Care to stop making NR latex exam gloves

Roswell, Georgia - Kimberly-Clark Health Care appears to have said it will stop making NR Latex exam gloves within 18 months. The company issued a statement saying, it "will be shifting the production of exam gloves from latex to synthetic alternatives over the next four to 18 months."

The statement continued, "The company made this business decision in support of the growing customer demand for synthetic solutions such as its latest glove offering, "Sterling" Nitrile, and its market-leading "Purple Nitrile" Exam Gloves, and in response to unprecedented increases in the cost of latex raw materials.

KCHC said costs of raw latex have risen by 300 percent since 2002, while energy costs have risen by 274 percent over the same period. It said it did not expect prices of either latex or energy to fall in the mid- to long-term, and that it would need to pass these costs on to its customers.

KCHC's president, Joanne Bauer, said, "high-quality, synthetic alternatives to latex, which do not sacrifice worker and patient safety, will continue to become more affordable, removing cost as the last significant barrier to changing to a latex-free system,”

John Amat, vice president of sales and marketing, Kimberly-Clark Health Care said the availability of a better alternative to latex in terms of both comfort and pricing helps to make a compelling case for facilities to use latex-free solutions.

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Press release from Kimberly Clark healthcare