Kimberly-Clark, a leading manufacturer of medical supplies (including protective gloves), makes the popular nitrile gloves for both healthcare and industrial work places. Kimberly-Clark has gained notoriety due to the introduction of the purple color to a nitrile glove. This was a significant strategy because it gave workers a quick visual cue that if they needed to use a glove made out of nitrile, all they would need to do is grab the purple glove.

The KC Safeskin Purple Nitrile glove is available as a medical exam glove. This should not be confused with their Purple Nitrile glove made for industrial companies. Although these protective gloves may look and feel similar, they are tested for different things. Within a hospital setting, you should always use the medical exam glove version of the Purple Nitrile glove because they have been tested to protect against blood borne pathogens. The AQL standard is also more stringent in the purple nitrile glove being used in a medical environment.

As for the non-medical version of the KC Purple Nitrile, this protective glove tends to be thicker and longer. The extra thickness gives a better protection against punctures and has a higher resistance to a wide range of oil-based chemicals. The added length is quite useful in that it covers not just the fingers and palms, but the wrists and arms as well. As expected, the thickness of the nitrile material used will determine the level of protection provided. The thicker the nitrile gloves are, the less feels the hands will have but that is usually not a concern as an industrial glove.