Most of the rubbers we use now, like in rubber bands or car tires are made synthetically. But large vehicles, like airplanes and trucks, require tires made from a natural source, and until now that has been one type of tree that doesn’t scale or farm well. A new process to make natural rubber uses the guayule plant instead of the rubber tree. The guayule plant is scalable, easy to farm, and can be processed relatively easily because the rubber is stored right under the plant’s bark. The clothing company Patagonia, known for their pledge to be environmentally conscious, has already started making wetsuits out of this dessert shrub.
Alternative source for natural rubber is environmentally sustainable
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