IRGMA appeals to Minister of Environment to take action against Mun Health Product

The Indian Rubber Gloves Manufacturers Association (IRGMA) has petitioned the Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav to take action against Mun Health Product (India), a subsidiary of Hartalega, a publicly listed company in Malaysia, for importing banned chlorinated gloves into the country through various ports.

 In their strongly worded letter, the association requested the Union Government to prevent Hartalega, one of the largest manufacturers of rubber gloves, from dumping chlorinated gloves in the country through its subsidiaries. “At the port of entry, they mislabel chlorinated gloves as permissible imports, which are then sold to hospitals as medical gloves,” said IRGMA.

 “The government must implement strict measures to check for misdeclarations by importers at the ports and ensure that consumer interests are protected. These poor-quality chlorinated gloves are being supplied to government hospitals and industries. The rubber gloves being imported from Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and China are undermining the Union Government’s Make in India initiative as well,” said IRGMA. Industry data shows imports of these gloves surged by 58.6 per cent to 460 million pieces in August from 290 million pieces in July 2024.

 “Mun Health Product (India) has violated the Biomedical Waste Management Rules (which mandate the phase-out of chlorinated gloves by March 2019), and the MD Rules concerning adverse effects on consumers by bringing in these banned chlorinated gloves,” stated IRGMA in their letter to Union Minister Bhupender Yadav.

 The association tested the gloves sold under Glove-On Eureka brand (Manufacturer: Hartalega, Malaysia) at a private lab, and the results confirmed the presence of chlorination. “We have attached the lab report, which indicates chlorine bonds in the gloves, along with import data and the rules being violated in India while dumping the chlorinated gloves in our letter to the Union Minister. Mun Health has submitted a misdeclaration regarding the type of gloves, labelling them as non-medical to avoid testing as per MD rules. Furthermore, the import data shows an unusually low unit price for the gloves, whereas the actual international price is significantly higher,” said an IRGMA spokesperson.

 IRGMA explained that manufacturers do not provide certificates to customs verifying that the gloves are non-chlorinated and suitable for healthcare professionals, thereby putting consumers at risk and violating the Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules which cause negative impact to the environment. “The non-medical gloves are imported under different varieties of HSN codes and sold as medical-grade gloves, thus jeopardising the health and safety of patients and medical personnel,” IRGMA said.

 Requesting the Union Minister’s intervention, the IRGMA noted that the Indian glove manufacturing industry is suffering due to ineffective implementation of government rules and regulations, resulting in significant risks to consumer health and safety.