NEW! Green Tea Podcast: "Gloves and Greenwashing" with Kate Fugett

The Sustainability Committee is pleased to share the newest episode of the Green Tea Podcast: 

Gloves and Greenwashing with Kate Fugett

The most common questions that are emailed to the Sustainability Committee relate to disposable gloves. Co-chair of the committee, Kate Fugett, talks to Roxy about an article that she co-wrote in 2022 about the environmental impact of glove manufacturing and waste, as well as the impact on global human health. 

While there often isn't a satisfying solution for a truly 'sustainable glove', Kate lays out the various avenues that conservation labs can take in effort to be more conscientious of the social and environmental harms that come with this very necessary tool in protecting ourselves and the objects we preserve. 

Building off of expertise from other fields, we can be more informed about the pros and cons of each solution and decide which impact we would like to contribute: perhaps the conditions of your lab make it easier to recycle the many pairs of gloves you use because you don't have to worry about biohazards - or your lab decides to prioritize American-made gloves to be ensure that your impact isn't contributing to social harms and exploitative labor practices - or maybe latex is ideal because no one is allergic, and it's an option with a small carbon impact in waste management terms. 

**Please ensure you are prioritizing the right material glove for the solvent or hazards you are using. PPE is designed to protect you first and foremost.**

Ultimately, "[you] cannot do all the good that the world needs. But the world needs all the good that [you] can do." - Jana Stanfield

Article Discussed:  "The Use, Reuse, Refuse, and Recycling of Nitrile Gloves: A Collaboration between the Sustainability Committee and Health & Safety Network", 2022