Stretching the possibilities for a sustainable rubber industry in 2020

Mighty Earth advocates for a sustainable natural rubber industry, highlighting the role of the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR) in addressing deforestation and human rights abuses. While acknowledging progress in stakeholder cooperation, the author identifies critical gaps in the GPSNR, including the lack of internal company policies, the absence of a grievance mechanism, and the non-participation of Chinese companies. The document calls for increased supply chain transparency, the inclusion of smallholder farmers, and a shift toward binding regulation to ensure a level playing field.

• Natural rubber production is a significant driver of tropical deforestation, which threatens biodiversity and the global climate balance by destroying carbon sinks.
• The Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR), founded in March 2019 by rubber producers, processors, tire makers, auto manufacturers, and CSOs, aims to make the industry sustainable through transparency, traceability, and accountability.
• Despite initial progress, the GPSNR faces several internal failures: some member companies lack internal sustainability policies, there is no effective grievance mechanism for policy violations, and monitoring systems for member performance are undeveloped.
• The sustainability of the rubber industry is hindered by external factors, including the absence of Chinese companies from the GPSNR, endemic corruption in producing countries, and low rubber prices that prevent smallholders from investing in sustainable practices.

APA

Jones, S. (2020). Stretching the possibilities for a sustainable rubber industry in 2020. Mighty Earth. https://mightyearth.org/article/stretching-the-possibilities-for-a-sustainable-rubber-industry-in-2020/

Chicago

Jones, Sydney. Stretching the possibilities for a sustainable rubber industry in 2020. Mighty Earth, 2020. https://mightyearth.org/article/stretching-the-possibilities-for-a-sustainable-rubber-industry-in-2020/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Jones |first1=Sydney |title=Stretching the possibilities for a sustainable rubber industry in 2020 |publisher=Mighty Earth |date=16 January 2020 |url=https://mightyearth.org/article/stretching-the-possibilities-for-a-sustainable-rubber-industry-in-2020/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{jones2020stretching, author = {Jones, Sydney}, title = {{Stretching the possibilities for a sustainable rubber industry in 2020}}, publisher = {Mighty Earth}, year = {2020}, month = jan, url = {https://mightyearth.org/article/stretching-the-possibilities-for-a-sustainable-rubber-industry-in-2020/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }