What is CE?
CE is a certification mark within the European Union.
Products with a CE mark meet all the requirements regarding health, safety, and the environment. CE stands for Conformité Européene, which roughly translated means in conformance with European regulations.
Products with CE marking may be sold and used anywhere within the European Economic Area (EEA).
With CE marking, you can be confident that the product provides good basic protection.
What are the different categories of PPE gloves?
Generally, PPE gloves are categorized into 3 categories, with each category providing a different level of protection, i.e. protection against minimal risk, medium risk or deadly hazards, or serious irreversible damage to health risks.
Thus, PPE is categorized as Simple Design (often referred to as Category 1), Intermediate Design (Category 2), and Complex Design (Category 3).
Intermediate design (Category 2) gloves are those gloves that do not fall into either complex design or simple design categories.
Category 1- Simple Design PPE
Protection: Against minimal risks
Simple Design is considered to be low risk and gloves that fall into this category are defined as those gloves that protect the wearer from cleaning materials of weak action and easily reversible effects.
Gloves giving protection against diluted detergent solutions are given as an example.
Simple design gloves should mention clearly ‘For minimal risks only’ in at least the official language of the country of destination.
Significantly, Simple Design is a self-certification process that imposes no obligation on the manufacturer to conduct tests according to certain standards.
Category 2- Intermediate Design PPE
Protection: Against medium risks
Intermediate design gloves are designed to protect against risks that can result in permanent adverse health effects.
These protective gloves are tested according to European standards by an accredited laboratory.
Category 3- Complex Design PPE
Protection: Against deadly hazards or serious irreversible damage to health risks
Complex Design covers the highest level of risk, otherwise defined as irreversible and mortal risk.
This PPE must not only have passed the test of the 2nd category but also has to be subjected to a product quality assurance system.
Protective gloves in this category are typically those gloves that provide protection against chemical splashes and micro-organisms.
These gloves must be marked with pictograms showing the gloves’ protection properties and must be tested at an accredited test institute.
What is CE CAT III?
Personal protective equipment (PPE) with CE CAT III (category three) protects you against irreversible injuries and mortal risks. These are risks that can cause permanent injury or even death.
This kind of PPE protects you against very specific chemical or mechanical hazards.
It is advisable to choose the PPE category based on the target market needs and usage areas.
For example, if the gloves are targeted for household usage, it is not always expected to have high chemical resistant performance, hence going for simple design gloves in category 1 for protection against minimal risk will serve the purpose of household gloves.
If the gloves are meant to handle strong chemicals eg. for workers spraying pesticides or disinfectants, then you might want to consider complex design PPE gloves in category 3 eg. chemical resistant gloves for protection against deadly hazards or serious irreversible damage to health risks.
Who are we?
We are a pioneer in the Malaysian rubber glove industry since 1987, specializing in the manufacture of unsupported rubber gloves (Natural Rubber, Nitrile, and Neoprene).
With over 30 years of manufacturing experience, we export our gloves to over 50 countries worldwide. Our products are distributed as either personal protective equipment (PPE) for industrial safety or household items for consumer use.
If you are currently looking for rubber gloves products with CE marking (it is especially important when you are importing the products into European countries), feel free to contact us and our gloves specialist will get back to you within 1 working day.
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