David Pearson wrote:

Are there any general-purpose gloves that do the same
job as leather ones, but that are not leather? I.e keep your
hands safe during DIY and garden work?

There are a few options, but they are not direct replacements as such.
Kevlar as others have said is close. Nitrile dipped cotton are good for
anything wet, and offer quite good resistance to puncture. The woven
handling gloves can also be very good for some tasks. These are coated
with a mesh of latex ribs and give them massive grip on flat heavy
usually difficult to grip things like sheets of MDF, chip or
plasterboard. For delicate tasks (painting, plumbing, car washing) then
latex examination gloves are very good for slight hand protection but
also keeping them clean. Finally for protection from dangerous sharp
edges you can also get chainmail gloves.

--
Cheers,

John.

/================================================== ===============\
| Internode Ltd - http://www.internode.co.uk |
|-----------------------------------------------------------------|
| John Rumm - john(at)internode(dot)co(dot)uk |
\================================================= ================/