Specialized Disposable Gloves

Notice Type: Sources Sought Notice

Solicitation No.: 75N98026SS00813

Posted Date: July 20, 2026

Response Date: August 5, 2026

Response Time: 1:00 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)

NAICS Code: 315990 Apparel Accessories and Other Apparel manufacturing

Product Service Code: 8415 Clothing, Special Purpose

Title: Specialized Disposable Gloves

Disclaimer

This is a Sources Sought Notice.  This is not a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability of small business sources, and domestically manufactured products to meet the requirement described herein. This notice does not obligate the Government to issue a solicitation or award a contract.  Responses to this notice are not offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to for a binding contract.  The Government will not reimburse respondents for any costs incurred in preparing a response.

Agency/Office

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

Office of Logistics and Acquisition Operations (OLAO)

Description

The NIH/OLAO is seeking to obtain information regarding 1) the availability and capability of qualified small business sources; (2) whether they are small businesses; HUBZone small businesses; service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; woman-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged business; and (3) their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code of 315990 with 500 in size standards in number of employees, and to obtain information regarding the availability of U.S. manufactured specialized disposable gloves. 

HHS personnel including clinicians, researchers, laboratory personnel, animal care staff, maintenance personnel, and other staff who may encounter chemical, biological, clinical, research, animal care, facility, diagnostic, or related workplace hazards require specialized disposable gloves to safely perform their duties of clinical, research, diagnostic, laboratory, animal care, maintenance, decontamination, cleaning, waste handling, facility-support, and emergency preparedness activities that support the Department's mission. These gloves are a critical element of personal protective equipment for personnel who handle or may contact hazardous chemicals, biological materials, infectious or potentially infectious substances, contaminated surfaces, research specimens, animal-related materials, cleaning and disinfecting agents, and other materials presenting exposure risks.

Gloves must be appropriate for the specific hazards, environments, and tasks for which they are used.  Glove performance is evaluated on hazard-specific protective characteristics, including material, thickness, barrier integrity, chemical resistance, degradation resistance, permeation performance, durability, dexterity, fit, tactile sensitivity, puncture or tear resistance, and compatibility with the intended task.

For chemical applications, gloves should be supported, where available, by product-specific chemical resistance documentation for the material and thickness being procured. Such documentation typically includes permeation testing (ASTM F739 or equivalent), which establishes how long a glove resists breakthrough by a given chemical, and degradation testing (ASTM D471, ANSI/ISEA 105, or equivalent), which establishes whether the glove material physically deteriorates on contact. Gloves used with chemotherapy agents or other hazardous drugs should have documented resistance under ASTM D6978 or an equivalent standard, which assesses permeation specifically by chemotherapy drugs.

The types of gloves we request are the following:

• Sterile nitrile (cleanroom, BSL-3, surgical, standard)
• Neoprene
• Polyisoprene
• Extended cuff
• Heavy Thick Nitrile (>6mil)
• Medical Non-Sterile

Specialized Disposable Gloves salient characteristics:

• Nitrile-Xtra Gloves, color – purple, meets high containment biosafety lab requirements for extended cuff and color 6 mil, 12 inch
• Nitrile Gloves, color – silver, meets high containment biosafety lab requirements for extended cuff and color, 3.5 mil, 12 inch
• Nitrile w/extended cuff – for BSL-3 labs, provide complete overlap coverage with lab coat, gown, or Tyvek suit
• Neoprene non-latex alternative to nitrile for certain applications
• Nitrile, Medical Grade, Sterile, powder-free nitrile examination gloves, sterling color, approximately 4.5 mil thickness at fingertips and 4.0 mil at palm, ambidextrous, textured fingertips, 9.5 inch cuff, natural rubber latex-free, proven for low dermatitis potential, tested for 52 chemotherapy drugs and fentanyl per ASTM D6978, should be worn for all activities involving chemotherapy drugs (range of sizes from XS-XL)
• Neoprene
• Polyisoprene
• Extended Cuff
• Medical-grade, non-sterile, powder-free nitrile examination gloves, color - green; approximately 3.6 mil finger thickness; 2.8 palm thickness; ambidextrous; textured fingertips; latex-free; Aloe-Touch ICE; packaged 250 gloves per box and 10 boxes per case (2500 gloves per case); intended for direct patient care. (range of sizes from S-XL).

Without access to these types of specialized disposable gloves, HHS cannot conduct essential work safely and continuously. Inadequate glove protection increases the risk of occupational exposure, personnel injury or illness, interruption of clinical, research, diagnostic, animal care, maintenance, and facility-support operations, delayed research and diagnostic activities, reduced operational capacity, and noncompliance with applicable occupational health and safety requirements. Reliable access to specialized gloves is therefore necessary to protect HHS personnel, maintain continuity of essential operations, and carry out the Department's public health, clinical, research, animal care, emergency preparedness, response, and facility-support missions.

Information Submission Requirement

Please provide the following details within your response:

1. Provide: a) Legal Business Name, b) UEI Number, c) Point of Contact (phone and email), and d) Company website address, if applicable.
2. State size of business and current socioeconomic status (i.e. small business, small disadvantage business, women-owned small business, 8(a) program, HUBZone, service-disabled veteran owned small business, etc.). 

Capability and Experience Statement

All capable vendors should respond with a capability statement informing the availability of U.S. manufactured specialized disposable gloves meeting the salient characteristics listed above in detail.  Pictures and descriptions are welcomed.  Very importantly, within the capability statement Include the following:

• Country of Origin for all component materials (ex. Natural rubber, synthetic rubber, oils, etc.)
• Country of Manufacture (i.e. where the finished product is made), and
• Annual production capability (in each, ex. 1M gloves).

Response Instructions

An organization that is not considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice. Any potential offers should respond electronically with their capability statement by 1:00pm eastern daylight time (EDT), Wednesday, August 5, 2026, in writing by email to Tonia Alexander at tonia.alexander@nih.gov  with (subject line to reference Sources Sought  75N98026SS00813 – Specialized Disposable Gloves). 

Confidentiality

Very importantly, no proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response.