Donning Powder
What is the purpose of powder on gloves?
Donning powder makes gloves easier to put on, extends shelf life, and keeps the gloves from sticking together during manufacturing. A powder-free glove is less susceptible to spread the allergens, but it is more expensive to execute the process to remove the powder and could cause the gloves to stick together and not be as easy to don, making the entire procedure of creating a powder free glove more costly.
What is donning powder?
The powder used on gloves is most often 100% USP (United States Pharmacopoeia) cornstarch. USP is the official public standards-setting authority for all prescription and over-the-counter medicines, dietary supplements, and other healthcare products manufactured and sold in the United States.
For examination and surgical grade gloves, ASTM D6124 specifies acceptable levels of powder on powdered gloves or how much powder residue is acceptable to be considered powder free.
Why are powdered gloves typically less expensive than powder-free gloves?
Within the glove producing process, powder is sprayed onto the glove. For powder-free gloves, this step can be skipped, however in order to make the gloves easier to don without powder, additional more costly procedures are added to the end of the process.
Last Updated: 06/01/2010