New – GO Industrial Glove Web Site Upgrade


We are pleased to announce that we have just completed the final touches on the major revamp of our web site dedicated to Industrial Work Gloves. Link below.
Although this web site has existed since 2008, we’ve added new category navigation and site search capabilities and, obviously, a new modern look. We’ve also up-graded our shopping cart to meet customer expectations and comply with new internet security protocols. 
GO Gloves has been on-line since 1996 but we developed the Industrial Glove web site which has navigation exclusive to industrial and work gloves. However, our internal search engine will also allow you to find other hard to find gloves not displayed on the industrial site. 
By the way, if you are not on our mailing list already, we encourage you to sign up at the link at the bottom of the home page. You’ll get a 20% discount coupon just for joining us.

Industrial site link: http://industrial.gloves-online.com/

Future price volatility predicted in leather work glove costs


I am predicting that we will see significant and sudden price increases in most cowhide grain and split leather work gloves during 2014. This comes on the heels of the 5 – 10% annual increases over the last three years. Some of our leather work glove suppliers are anticipating another 10% hike in 2014 but I am predicting that the increases will be around 15% and on some models as much as 30%.
Global conditions have resulted in shortages of most cowhides and multiple influences are contributing to the price increases. Examples are:

  • China’s recent environmental policies resulting in closure of over 100 leather tanneries that do not use eco-friendly metal-free tanning processes.
  • Reduced number of cowhides due to higher feed prices and global droughts.

  • Cost of labor increases in China. 
  • Increased leather demand from auto, clothing, and shoe industries. 

Some manufacturers have sourced cheaper gloves in India and Pakistan but the quality of the leather and the craftsmanship is not currently comparable to that in China. Recently, due to customer complaints, we have had to replace some of those inferior leather glove lots that were sent to us without our knowledge and were unfortunately shipped our larger leather glove industrial users. Subsequently, these inferior gloves have been returned to the manufacturer.
As an option to the cowhide leather price increases, I encourage you to consider other alternatives with minimal price challenges such as pigskin, synthetic leathers, and grain goatskin or sheepskin. Otherwise, place your orders now if you want some immediate price protection. 

Introducing the DeWALT “Under the Hood” Mechanics Gloves


Don’t let the name fool you!

The brand of these gloves, as you know, stands for high-end tools for the construction, manufacturing and woodworking industries but don’t let the name of these gloves fool you. They are great for all trades besides auto mechanics. 
I’ve personally tested these work gloves and they are designed so well they feel like a second skin and the grip that these gloves offer is unmatched by any mechanic glove I’ve tested.  They offer the best in fit, feel, and function which is my three main benchmarks for work gloves.  A bonus feature is the knuckle and back of hand protection.
I won’t bother you with the many features and benefits here since you can read about the gloves at this link:
Only a handful of authorized retailers across the country have been allocated initial production inventory and we are proud to be one of them.  
Thinking of buying your crew a Christmas present? We are also offering a special “WORK CREW” 6 Pack introductory offer.  
Happy Holidays, the Glove Guru

Celebrating One Million Page Views for Gloves


Early today, Gloves-Online.com reached the astonishing milestone of One Million page views since January 1– and before our busy season. 
Page views are the conservative metric when evaluating web site analytics. For example, if we counted actual hits, the number would be 7 to 10 times higher due to images, etc. You can see this in the chart.
Although we are very proud of this success, I wish to thank all the glove families that made this happen. My thanks (ranked according to their contributions) go to Mr. & Mrs. White Gloves, Leather Gloves, Winter Gloves, Fashion Gloves, Church Gloves, Bamboo Gloves, Sport Gloves, Cotillion Gloves, Usher Gloves, Coated Gloves, Cut Resistant Gloves, Grip Gloves, Fancy Gloves, Parade Gloves, Heat Resistant Gloves, Mechanics Gloves, and Electrician Gloves
To demonstrate the significance of this number, we have not factored (added) in the customers that migrate to our industrial web site from GO to purchase their industrial and safety gloves. The GO Industrial web site is a completely different web site and we obviously don’t share those metrics since many people follow this Blog – a.k.a industrial espionage – but you can perceive those hits. 
For the skeptics out there, I’ve added a web shot image of our actual metric scale which can be enlarged. 
I doubt there is another glove company in the world that has reached this milestone in less than 9 months. After all, we were the very first global glove company on the Internet since 1996. 
I can’t wait to see how successful the internet shop of our fine fashion glove boutique in St. Thomas, USVI, Olga Gloves, becomes.

Electrical Safety Glove Classifications

I often get calls asking what class of rubber insulating gloves is required for specific levels of voltage. The following is information from OSHA. 
Employees who work in close proximity to live electrical current may require a variety of electrical insulating protective equipment. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) outlines this in their electrical protective equipment standard (29 CFR 1910.137) which provides the design requirements and in-service care and use requirements for electrical-insulating gloves and sleeves as well as insulating blankets, matting, covers and line hoses. 
Electrical safety gloves are categorized by the level of voltage protection they provide. Voltage protection is broken down into the following classes:
Class 00 – Maximum use voltage of 500 volts
Class 0 – Maximum use voltage of 1,000 volts
Class 1 – Maximum use voltage of 7,500 volts
Class 2 – Maximum use voltage of 17,000 volts
Class 3 – Maximum use voltage of 26,500 volts
Class 4 – Maximum use voltage of 36,000 volts 
Other requirements include daily inspections for any damage before each day’s use and retested and certified every six months. 
You can print a copy of the Electrical Glove classification, voltage levels, and labeling chart by clicking on this “CHART” link. 

A glove patent lawsuit worth watching

Tom Votel, President of Tenacious Holdings, Inc. (d/b/a Ergodyne) threw down the gauntlet yesterday against the Wells Lamont Glove company in a lawsuit claiming infringement on his glove design patent.
The lawsuit (Case 0:2012cv00893) filed in Minnesota on April 10th, seeks damages against Wells Lamont for claims that they infringe on a US Patent design patent #D/388,514. This patent, filed in 2009, was issued to Votel (listed as the inventor) on February 2, 2010 and assigned to Tenacious Holdings.
As a glove patent owner myself on several glove utility (field of use) patents, a glove design (appearance) patent for a work glove is rather unique and interesting. As a matter of fact, in the last two decades I’ve only been associated with one (1) design glove patent and that was for a consumer novelty glove. 
It’s not uncommon for glove companies to copy another’s work glove and I can only assume Mr. Votel and his company became very tired of these glove industry shenanigans. I like the Wells Lamont Glove Company and I like the Ergodyne Company but I’m a glove designer and maker. So, I’ll watch this case closely. Let’s see who will be the most tenacious. 

GO Greens® Bamboo Gloves – Lightweight but heavy.

We just received our latest shipment of our popular GO Greens® Bamboo Gloves and things have certainly changed.
 
As many of you already know, the GO Greens Bamboo Gloves were designed to be the best light weight general utility coated work glove on the market. And, be the only environmental friendly work glove, too boot. Mission accomplished.
What we didn’t anticipate is that our warehouse manager had to recruit our office staff to help unload 4 tons of the GO Greens last week.
So much for light weight work gloves. 

Gloves – The ideal stocking stuffer

We’ve decked our halls with lots of gloves ready for the rush to find great gifts for your loved ones, friends, the delivery man and even the kids.
We have the finest in leather gloves; fur lined gloves, cell phone gloves; skiing gloves, and many types of winter and winter waterproof gloves. We even have a huge inventory of work gloves.
Don’t wait to try and find good gloves at your local department store, we have what they no longer stock and sell.  And, the best thing besides our quality is our prices.
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One word about Winter Gloves….

WATERPROOF!

Based on recent phone calls, I feel obliged to repeat my post from last year below:

It amazes me that most shoppers looking for a real winter glove fail to purchase Waterproof gloves. I’m not talking about fine fashion lined leather gloves; I’m referring to the winter gloves you wear during outdoor activities such as shoveling snow, sledding, skiing, or hiking. The same applies to winter construction and work gloves.

Thermal lined gloves are a must have and will keep you warm but once the lining becomes wet, your hands will freeze. Regarding linings look for a branded lining like Gore-Tex or HeatKeep just to name a few. A branded lining on the label generally indicates that the manufacturer has made an extra effort to provide warmth. You should also look for a knit wrist or a wrist closure to keep out snow, rain and wind. Lastly, make sure the gloves are WATERPROOF or they will not be cold proof.

Tip: Check out the Youngstown Winter Waterproof Gloves (Pictured). These are by far our #1 selling winter gloves every year since they were first introduced.

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