Like working in the food business, dealing with cannabis requires gloves that provide enough protection. Maintaining the product's purity and preventing potential cross-contamination that could harm consumers are both essential. To that end, you must select the best gloves for trimming weed.
Cheaper glove materials can introduce undesired bacterial contamination to the cannabis you handle, so you should be cautious about selecting high-quality disposable gloves for cannabis handling. In addition, cheap gloves may convey significant chemical toxicity.
At a glance:
Why Use Gloves?
There are plenty of different reasons why you should be wearing gloves when cultivating cannabis — especially if you’re growing for sale in the weed industry.
Gloves protect both the wearer and the product they’re in contact with. Without gloves, any natural oils, dirt, and even sweat can transfer to the buds you’re trimming and, in turn, cause the desirable trichomes to degrade at a much faster rate than average.
Disposable gloves also help prevent your buds from being contaminated with plant nutrients, soil, or potting mix that might still be on your hands from gardening.
Any cross-contamination with your weed plants — whether it’s dirt, sweat, or natural oils — can cause your buds to fail lab tests for safety. This outcome renders your herb unsellable and means your months of hard work have gone to waste.
For personnel working in licensed cannabis operations, disposable gloves or single-use gloves are required while handling any plant.
Durability is not a passing issue, particularly for those employed in the agricultural and processing industries. Rips and tears may be highly aggravating for glove-wearers when handling complicated items that are both sticky and prickly.
Why Choose High-Quality Medical-Grade Gloves
Medical-grade disposable gloves are the highest quality gloves on the market and offer the best level of protection available. When cultivating cannabis, it’s essential to safeguard the purity and quality of the final product, and opting for medical-grade gloves throughout the growing and trimming process is a great way to achieve that goal.
Bacterial Count on Unused Gloves
Several studies on medical grade, non-sterile disposable gloves have found that low-cost disposable gloves are often contaminated with bacteria — even at the point of sale. Bacteria on gloves can then be transferred to cannabis products, creating a risk of potentially contaminating your product.
Medical-grade gloves are produced to a much higher standard in a clean and sterile environment. If you want to avoid potentially contaminating your grows, sticking to medical grade throughout the process — from planting to trimming — is a great place to start.
Chemicals in Gloves can Migrate to Products
Cheaper gloves aren’t made to the same standards as medical-grade gloves. To keep prices down, cheap glove producers might compromise on quality and materials used, which could potentially contaminate your weed.
Some cheaper gloves — especially from unknown manufacturers — might contain toxic compounds like cyanide, cheap phthalate plasticizers, and other harmful chemicals. Choosing medical-grade versions means you completely remove that risk. Glove fraud exists and is a real consideration.
Safety of Food-Compliant Gloves
There are no specific regulations or inspection programs governing food-handling gloves. The sole condition is that the glove's components adhere to FDA rules and are composed of "Substances widely recognized as safe for use in food or food packaging."
Given that 18,000 Staphylococci bacteria may flow through a single glove hole in twenty minutes, regular food service-compliant gloves may not safeguard your product.
Other Considerations
There are many different things you should consider when investing in gloves for cannabis cultivation — especially if the cannabis you’re growing or processing is for the medical marijuana industry because contamination can mean your product won’t pass safety testing.
Glove Strength
The leading indicator of how readily gloves may rip and tear is the material from which the gloves are made. Many people mistakenly assume that a thicker glove is more durable and tear-resistant.
This comparison doesn’t hold since cheap gloves may be manufactured using fillers such as chalk to reduce production costs. Chalk does not stretch, which is a severe issue because elasticity is a crucial component of the strength and quality of a glove.
The relationship between the quality of ingredients and production standards and the resulting gloves' quality is quite direct. Additionally, gloves made from low-quality materials and chemicals are more likely to cause skin irritation.
Acceptable Quality Level
Acceptable Quality Level (AQL) is an international sample standard for assessing the quality of a final glove product. AQL assesses quality by finding the maximum number of acceptable flaws in a random sample of gloves.
AQL assesses the quality of gloves by indicating the number of pinhole faults present out of the box. The lower the number, the greater the quality of the gloves. For example, medical-grade gloves must have an AQL score of 2.5 or below to pass inspection, translating to a maximum of 2.5 gloves with pinhole faults per 100. We advise the use of gloves with an AQL of 2.5 or less.
Choose disposable exam-grade gloves with an AQL of 2.5 or less when selecting gloves for use in cannabis cultivation.
Glove Grade
Sterile gloves are the most hygienic gloves and are used in hospital settings, such as surgeries.
Gloves designed for medical use are submitted to a battery of FDA-mandated testing to verify they meet safety standards. According to FDA regulations, medical gloves must fulfill specific performance characteristics, including resistance to leaks and tears and biocompatibility. Additionally, medical gloves must be powder-free.
Gloves for handling food must meet Food and Drug Administration requirements (FDA Title 21 CFR Part 177). The raw ingredients must be "generally regarded as safe for use in food and food packaging." Food-grade gloves are subjected to little testing, allowing a vast array of high-quality gloves to access the US market.
We recommend purchasing medical-grade or food-grade gloves from a manufacturer with documented quality processes when obtaining gloves for the cannabis industry.
Snug Fit
Comfort and agility are optimally balanced in a glove that fits snugly with no slack spots but considerable elasticity. Latex is the optimal material when it is essential to maneuver the fingers easily. A latex medical glove is also likely to give some sizing flexibility since it will expand to fit even when a smaller glove is required.
A thin nitrile glove will also provide more flexibility, better comfort, and a snug fit but will be less tolerant of an incorrect size.
Vinyl medical gloves are far less elastic and must be the correct size to avoid wrinkling (too large) or splitting (too small.)
Factors in Selecting the Best Gloves for Trimming Weed
Are you looking for the perfect gloves for harvesting medical-grade cannabis? Disposable nitrile gloves are beneficial for growers when trimming, growing, processing, handling, and checking cannabis products. The exceptional comfort, protection, and chemical resistance of disposable nitrile gloves make them our top recommendation.
Unlike disposable nitrile gloves, coated work gloves may be reused for months or years with adequate care.
Processing
Processing cannabis involves handling cannabis plants and stems, both of which are sticky and can be spikey — putting pressure on the gloves and their durability.
Opting for 6 mil nitrile gloves — which offer better strength and grip than other gloves available on the market — is an excellent choice for processing weed. Trimming tools are sharp, and maintaining a good grip throughout the process keeps you safe.
If you’re regularly reaching between plants, 8 mil nitrile gloves with an extended cuff might be a better choice, protecting your arm from the sharp plants and the plants from any sweat or oil on your skin.
Drying
As you dry cannabis plants, they become increasingly brittle, and brittle plants can cause snagging — on your clothes and your gloves. Choosing a more durable nitrile option (6 mils or more) will prevent your gloves from snagging, even when dealing with the driest and sharpest stalks.
Trimming
Whether dry or wet trimming, gloves must be extremely tough as resin might adhere to them. However, as you’re now working with your “sellable product,” opting for a thinner glove means you can be precise in your trimming to ensure your buds present as nicely as possible. Choosing a 4 mil nitrile glove will protect your hands and product while remaining thin enough that you still have full dexterity and control over your hands for precision trimming.
Top Gloves for Trimming Weed
Nitrile gloves are a clear front-runner when it comes to choosing the best disposable gloves for cannabis cultivation. Of the available disposable glove types — latex gloves, vinyl gloves, and nitrile gloves — nitrile gloves use the most robust material and offer excellent puncture resistance.
However, nitrile gloves aren’t the only cannabis-trimming-friendly product on the market — in fact, nitrile gloves, latex gloves, and vinyl gloves all play their roles in harvesting cannabis.
Cannabis is a particularly sticky plant with sharp stalks, so having quality gloves will make all the difference in how well you and your staff can work when trimming weed. When choosing gloves for the cannabis trimming industry, check the list below that outlines the best gloves for trimming cannabis products available from different retailers.
Gloves.com: Medical-Grade Nitrile Gloves
- Made from nitrile
- Strong puncture resistance
- Dexterity
- Full hand texture
- Powder-free for sensitive skin
- Beaded cuff
- Protects from tears from sharp tools
- Comfortable fit
- Extra thick
Glovenation.com: Black Rhino Powder Free Gloves
- 100% powder free
- Latex-free (great for latex allergies)
- Ambidextrous
- Resistant to punctures, tears, oils, and corrosive chemicals
- FDA accepted for food contact
- Rolled Cuff
- Made from nitrile
Fishersci.com: Fisherbrand Extended Cuff Nitrile Gloves
- Powder-free (perfect for sensitive skin)
- Textured for grip when wet and dry
- Ambidextrous
- Beaded Cuff
- Tested against chemotherapy drug exposure (high resistance)
- Made from nitrile
- Extra thick
Cannatrimusa.com: CannaGloves 4 mil Nitrile Gloves
- Puncture resistant
- Superior barrier protection
- Latex-free (perfect for those with latex allergies)
- Powder-free
- Industrial grade gloves
- Ambidextrous
- Textured fingertips for advanced grip
Amazon.com: Big Time Long Cuff Neoprene Gloves
- Neoprene coated for more protection
- Soft, comfortable flock lining
- Resistant to heavy-duty chemicals
- Extended cuffs
- Protecting against cross-contamination
Ferguson.com: All Rubber Chemical and Abrasion Resistant Reusable Gloves
- Extended cuffs
- Rugged exterior protection against cuts and abrasions
- Resistant against oils, acids, caustics and solvents
- Inner-lining absorbs moisture
Unoclean.com: Neoprene Flock-Lined Gloves
- Extended cuffs
- Resistance to chlorinated solvents, inorganic acids, petroleum, paint, and varnish remover
- Embossed grip
- Made from neoprene
- Thicker than other gloves
Eautotool.com: Deluxe Neoprene Gloves
- Textured for extra grip
- Chemical protection
- Cotton flocking to absorb moisture
- Protection against fiberglass, oil, and grease
- A variety of sizes is available for cannabis growers
At Gloves.com, we understand the importance of a good pair of gloves. That’s why we offer a wide selection of disposable and single-use gloves, perfect for people working in the cannabis industry. Our wide range of gloves is durable and will keep your hands safe while you work. Shop now and find the best gloves for harvesting cannabis.
