Cut protection gloves made from bamboo fibres – uvex Bamboo TwinFlex®

Bamboo is a particularly sustainable plant and can be found in more and more products. Thanks to its stability, durability and environmentally friendly cultivation, bamboo fibre is a popular material for the production of furniture.

Processed into a fibre called bamboo viscose, bamboo fibre absorbs an extremely high amount of moisture and is increasingly used in hygiene products and clothing. We have also used the advantages of bamboo fibre for our own purposes and developed the uvex Bamboo TwinFlex® technology a few years ago. This is because the silky soft bamboo fibre is perfect for achieving a very high level of comfort in cut protection gloves. To optimise comfort and sensitivity even further, we have completely revised uvex Bamboo TwinFlex® once again. We give you 6 reasons why you won’t want to take off the new uvex Bamboo TwinFlex® cut protection gloves.

Cut protection gloves must be worn when handling sharp parts. This particularly applies when there is a high risk of cuts, whereby safety gloves with cut protection level C, D or higher must be worn. Often, wearing safety gloves with a high cut protection level throughout the work day is considered annoying or irritating.

Reasons for this include:

• A lack of sensitivity
• High weight due to thick materials
• Sweating in the glove
• An unpleasant feeling on the skin
• Allergic skin reactions due to the contents of the gloves

All this can result in workers repeatedly taking off their gloves while working and thereby risking their own protection.

To offer you the highest possible sensitivity, protection and comfort all in one design, we developed the latest generation of Bamboo TwinFlex® cut protection gloves in cut protection class D. As of now, there is no longer any reason to take off your cut protection gloves. Why? We can give you six reasons why you will not want to take off the uvex Bamboo TwinFlex D® xg!

The Bamboo TwinFlex D® xg feels silky and soft on the skin thanks to the use of bamboo fibres on the inside of the gloves. These fibres are very fine and thin, thereby enabling us to produce particularly thin and lightweight gloves. But these gloves particularly impress with their ability to absorb moisture quickly and retain high levels of it. Compared to cotton, bamboo fibres can retain a lot more moisture so that your hands always feel pleasantly dry even during tiring physical tasks.

The materials used can adapt exactly to the shape of your hand after being worn for a short period of time. The gloves therefore offer an ideal fit as well as maximum wearer comfort thanks to the patented Bamboo TwinFlex® yarn technology.

Alongside ensuring noticeably high wearer comfort, we especially care about the health of your skin. The adverse effects of hazardous substances on skin health are often not immediately apparent. Most hazardous substances dissolve particularly well in conjunction with moisture and sweat. To prevent this from ever happening, the Bamboo TwinFlex D® xg has been dermatologically tested as part of a study involving subjects with particularly sensitive skin. This test was carried out externally by Institut ProDERM® – Institut für angewandte dermatologische Forschung (ProDERM® Institute – Institute for Applied Dermatological Research).

The uvex Bamboo TwinFlex D® xg has been awarded the ProDERM® certificate and Standard 100 by Öko-Tex. Due to the absence of vulcanisation accelerators, which are often used in nitrile coatings, the cut protection gloves are also suitable for people with type IV hypersensitivity who are particularly prone to allergic reactions.

For safety gloves that offer cut protection level D, the Bamboo TwinFlex D® xg are amazingly light, flexible and thin, which allows them to offer a particularly high level of sensitivity at the same time. In the past, it was often the thickness and strength of materials that ensured a high level of cut protection. Today on the other hand, the latest technological developments make it possible to use the finest steel and HPPE (high performance polyethylene) to produce particularly thin safety gloves with a very high level of cut protection.

Although the finest steel fibres are used in the new Bamboo TwinFlex D® xg, your skin does not come into contact with them thanks to patented Bamboo TwinFlex® yarn technology. The gloves not only remain especially comfortable, but also light and highly flexible despite the use of steel. Therefore, workers do not need significant amounts of additional energy to be able to move their hands over sustained periods of time without becoming tired. This reduces the risk of injuries and increases workplace safety.

More and more companies are integrating intelligent methods into their production process as part of digitalisation (Industry 4.0). The use of screens, tablets and hand-held devices with a touchscreen function is continuously on the rise.

It is particularly important to keep employee safety in mind in this regard. If the use of safety gloves is mandatory in areas with a cutting risk, the respective safety gloves should have touchscreen capability. This is because taking off cut protection gloves when operating touchscreen devices should be avoided. This is not only relevant in terms of safety, but also requires additional time, resulting in increased costs for the company. The touchscreen capability of Bamboo TwinFlex D® xg eliminates this risk as the gloves can be worn continuously.

The topic of time and in turn cost-effectiveness brings us to the long service life of the Bamboo TwinFlex D® xg. In addition to giving the gloves a coating that is heat-resistant and enables use with touchscreens, we also focussed on ensuring durability and breathability. The high-quality Xtra-Grip-Aqua polymer coating offers precisely these properties. The uvex coating is ideal for both dry and oily work areas, making it unnecessary for workers to use a different set of gloves for these areas.

The recently developed uvex protexxion zone also plays a role in cost-effectiveness. The area in the thumb crotch between the thumb and the index finger is one of the most stressed areas of gloves. This area often wears through after a longer period of use or rips when flat, narrow or slightly sharp components are handled. The uvex protexxion zone means that this area of the Bamboo TwinFlex D® xg features textile reinforcement that prevents the textiles underneath from ripping and wearing out. This significantly increases the service life of the cut protection gloves.

Standard EN 388:2016 indicates the level of abrasion resistance of safety gloves. In this case, the highest standard is abrasion level 4 (8,000 rubs). In the uvex protexxion zone, we determined 8,000 rubs for the reinforced fabric itself. In accordance with EN 388:2016, the glove underneath also withstood 8,000 rubs, which corresponds to an abrasion resistance of 200% in the area of the protexxion zone.

The durability of the Bamboo TwinFlex D® xg design not only plays a role in cost-effectiveness, but also in conserving our resources and thereby sustainability. Added to this is the use of bamboo fibres, which are based on natural and renewable raw materials, as well as the sustainable production of the Bamboo TwinFlex D® xg at the German facility for uvex safety gloves.

The Bamboo TwinFlex D® xg was developed at our German facility in Lüneburg and is also produced there. As these products are “made in Germany”, we not only benefit from short delivery routes to Europe, but also the fact that the highest standards are implemented at our facility. In addition to CO₂-neutral production, sustainable energy and environment management  (ISO 14001/ISO 50001) and our commitment to never using solvents and plasticisers in production, we believe in exceeding REACH requirements. As part of the internal uvex harmful substance standard, around 200 critical substances are analysed on an ongoing basis.

Would you like to try out the Bamboo TwinFlex D® xg? See the quality for yourself – test the innovative uvex cut protection gloves in your own work environment. We are happy to provide you with detailed advice on your particular area of application. Would you like to find out more about our bamboo-fibre safety gloves? Visit our website to read all about our latest development – uvex Bamboo TwinFlex D® xg.