Development and characterization of sustainable safety gloves manufactured from recycled para-aramid blends

Objectives. The challenge of growing synthetic textile waste is a concern for sustainable development and needs addressing. Methods. This study develops protective gloves from recycled para-aramid fibres (RPA) with blends of cotton and polyester fibres (both virgin and recycled) to optimize protection and comfort. The impact of different blend ratios of fibres was studied for yarn properties along with comfort and protection of gloves through air permeability, cut, abrasion, tear and puncture resistance. Results. Higher content of RPA showed better strength; in contrast, substitution of cotton showed the opposite effect. In gloves, RPA-virgin polyester (60:40) had the best abrasion, cut, tear and puncture resistance at 500 cycles, 564 gf, 71 N and 87 N, with second-best air permeability. The sustainable alternative 60:40 RPA-recycled polyester (RP) gloves showed the best air permeability (2080 mm/s), with next-best abrasion, cut, tear and puncture resistance at 460 cycles, 555 gf, 70 N and 85 N. The worst characteristics were illustrated by a recycled cotton (RC) with RP blend. Statistical analysis by mixture regression models supported >95% of total variance for all results. Conclusion. These findings suggest parity of protection in recycled fibre and virgin fibre-derived safety gloves and manufactured sustainable protective gloves.