Germans still prefer to go on holiday in their cars. Without good tyres, nothing works. A booming market, a billion-dollar business. In Germany alone, more than 50 million tyres are sold every year. Where does their most important component, the rubber, actually come from? (video by Michael Höft, 2019)
The largest producer of rubber, natural rubber, is Thailand. More than four million tons of rubber are harvested annually on the country's plantations. In the past 30 years alone, production here has increased by 300 percent. A team from Exclusiv im Ersten has succeeded in filming on plantations in South East Asia. The working conditions are tough. The workers toil for up to 12 hours a day, at very low wages. In addition, toxic herbicides against weeds are sprayed on the plantations, which are prohibited in Europe, for example. For the workers in the fields a high health risk.
After the rubber harvest, the "white gold" ends up with middlemen who resell the rubber, including to German tire companies. While Thailand, the largest rubber producer, is seeing a slight decline in the area under cultivation, this is increasing in neighboring Cambodia. Here too, working conditions in the fields are extreme. The market for car tires is growing steadily, worldwide. German companies such as Continental, for example, stress that they use "natural raw materials conscientiously".
Many car drivers hardly think about where the rubber in their tyres comes from.
Short article in German (saldo.ch): Kautschuk-rubber-production-saldo2019.pdf (661.47 kb)
Interesting article about "The lifecycle of a tire" (dontwastemy.energy)