Green Gardening Gloves

These gloves are green in more ways than one, since they’re made from recycled water bottles. They are constructed with a high-tech spandex mesh fabric derived from recycled PET (polyethylene terephthalate) beverage bottles that have been ground up and spun into recycled yarn.

Each pair of the new West County Gardener Work and Landscape gloves removes one 8-ounce beverage bottle from landfills. Using recycled yarn versus virgin polyester yarns provides up to 75% energy savings and reduces green house gas emissions by at least 40%. The recycled fabric, called EcoSmart is tough and light, but just as soft as conventional nylon spandex. I have both kinds and can’t feel any difference in texture or comfort.

The Landscape glove is engineered with coated Kevlar©, heavy-duty polyurethane synthetic suede, and a tough-textured polyester palm to stand up to highly abrasive landscape elements such as stone, pavers and trees. Last summer, one of my yard helpers managed to destroy a pair of West County Kevlar© gloves, but only after having used them to dig out rocks with her hands. (I’ve since learned that teens need very specific gardening instructions).

New Tacky Kevlar© reinforced areas on the thumb web and finger pads help eliminate abrasion and wear problems in key contact areas. Sure-Grip© palm and reinforced finger pads allow you to hold onto heavy or slippery objects such as wet tools, pots and pavers. A dense padded palm increases impact and shock protection from power and hand tools. Compressed Neoprene knuckle guard protects users against scrapes, scratches and other common hand abrasions. Extra strength double top stitching with heavy-duty nylon thread protects against ripping and burst seams.

While these are all wonderful features, I don’t know that I’ve ever noticed half of them. What I have noticed, after four years of using these great gloves, is that mature, somewhat arthritic hands and fingers feel a lot better while using them than while using other gloves. In our stony soil, wielding even a thickly-padded trowel handle gets mighty painful after digging only a few small holes, so the extra padding on the gloves really helps.

And, you can just toss them in the washing machine when they get too dirty.

The new Landscape Glove is available in three colors and four sizes for both men and women and sells for under $30 at independent garden centers. For more information, or to find a location near you, click http://www.westcountygardener.com/

Let’s hear it for sustainable products for gardeners.

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