A 3.5 mil nitrile exam glove costs about 7.5 cents in a 1,000-glove case at $74.99, while a 6 mil heavy-duty black glove costs about 16 cents in its case at $159.99 — more than double, for a product that looks similar on a shelf. The difference is thickness and the tasks it is rated for, not brand. For a Newfoundland and Labrador clinic ordering its first case, the per-glove number is the figure to compare, because box pricing hides a 20 percent spread. The 3.5 mil nitrile exam gloves, 1,000 per case are the standard examination glove.
What does a nitrile glove cost per glove in Newfoundland and Labrador?
Per-glove cost depends on thickness, and thickness is a task decision. The three lines we stock, priced at list:
| Line | Thickness | Box price | Case price | Per glove (case) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard exam, blue | 3.5 mil | — | $74.99 / 1,000 | $0.075 |
| Heavy-duty, black | 6 mil | $19.99 / 100 | $159.99 / 1,000 | $0.160 |
| Chemo-rated, protege | 4.0 mil | See product page | See product page | Quoted per case |
Two things follow. First, the case discount on the heavy-duty line is 20 percent against the box, which is the largest single saving available on this category — bigger than switching brands. Second, a clinic that stocks 6 mil at every station is paying twice the per-glove cost for tasks that a 3.5 mil glove handles correctly. Sorting gloves by task is the budget lever; negotiating the case price is the smaller one.
Which thickness belongs where?
3.5 mil is an examination glove: routine patient contact, short procedures, tasks where tactile feel matters and the wear time is measured in minutes. 6 mil is a heavy-duty glove for higher mechanical risk — handling instruments, cleaning tasks with abrasive surfaces, and any task where a tear would be a real exposure. Chemo-rated gloves are a separate specification again, tested for permeation against a defined list of drugs rather than for puncture resistance, and they cannot be substituted by a thicker standard glove.
Fit is the other half of the decision. A glove that is too loose at the fingertips loses tactile feedback regardless of thickness, and a glove that is too tight tears at the cuff under load. Measure hand width across the palm and use the manufacturer's size chart, then buy one box per size to confirm before committing to a case. Size distribution in a clinic is rarely even — most sites over-order large and under-order small.
How many gloves does a clinic use in a year?
Count glove changes, not patients. A four-operatory clinic with 60 visits a day and an average of three glove changes per visit uses 180 gloves a day, or 45,000 a year — 45 cases of 1,000. A single-provider clinic at 12 visits a day with two changes each uses 6,000 a year, six cases. Add a 10 percent buffer for tears and re-gloving, and order on a fixed cycle.
Chemotherapy and hazardous-drug handling changes the count entirely, because those gloves are changed at defined intervals regardless of visible contamination, and a clinic that handles hazardous drugs should calculate that line separately rather than folding it into the general exam glove budget.
Where can a Newfoundland and Labrador clinic buy gloves by the case?
Ask four questions on the quote: the glove thickness in mil, the case count, whether the case ships from Canadian stock or is an indent order, and the ship-from-warehouse date. Thickness matters because "nitrile exam glove" covers 2 mil to 6 mil and the price range across that spread is threefold. Case count matters because some suppliers ship 10 boxes of 100 (1,000 gloves) and others ship 20 boxes of 90, which is 1,800 — a different product economics entirely.
Record the lot number of each case and store gloves away from heat and sunlight, because nitrile degrades with heat and ozone. The printable receiving log covers the check-in fields, the clinic self-check shows whether your consumable par levels are drifting, and if you are standardising gloves across several sites, ask a compliance specialist to review the specification set. Ordering for a clinic, lab or care home? Wholesale and multi-site ordering covers case pricing and account setup, and the B2B wholesale collection lists the institutional lines. For a quote across gloves, masks and gowns together, request a bulk quote. Reselling? become a distributor.
Related Reading
- Nitrile Exam Glove Bulk Order Minimums in Canada: Case-Count Math
- Glove Ordering for Quebec Clinics: Case Quantities, Sizes and Lead Times
- Which Isolation Gown Do Community Health Centres in Ontario Order?
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a nitrile exam glove cost?
About 7.5 cents per glove for a 3.5 mil standard exam glove in a 1,000-glove case, and about 16 cents per glove for a 6 mil heavy-duty glove in its case.
Is a 6 mil glove better than a 3.5 mil glove?
It is thicker, not universally better. 6 mil suits higher mechanical risk; 3.5 mil gives more tactile feedback for routine examination. Match thickness to the task.
Can a thicker nitrile glove replace a chemo-rated glove?
No. Chemotherapy-rated gloves are tested for permeation against a defined drug list, which thickness alone does not establish.
How many gloves are in a case?
One thousand on our standard lines, packed as ten boxes of one hundred. Confirm the case count in writing, because some suppliers ship different pack configurations.
Last updated: October 2026. CliniEco Medical is a licensed medical device establishment (MDEL #35334).
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