Introducing BOUNCE, the world’s first sustainable rubber movement anchored by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. BOUNCE is a call-to-action for suppliers, manufacturers and stakeholders to develop and adopt a set of sustainability standards for natural rubber production. The movement also aims to increase consumer awareness of how natural rubber is made – and to encourage them to demand a sustainable option when purchasing rubber goods.
Natural rubber is a staple component in consumer goods across the transport, health and leisure sectors, and is consumed daily by billions worldwide. However, its journey from rubber tree to consumer is poorly understood by most.
Demand for natural rubber reached 14 million tonnes last year, with 92% of that volume produced by 6 million subsistence small farmers across South-East Asia and Africa. Unsustainably low rubber prices have put immense pressure on those farmers and the natural environments they work in – which has left the rubber industry in disarray, verging on collapse.
To address these issues, BOUNCE proposes six key changes for the industry to adopt, each anchored by a United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These SDGs form the guiding principles that define the BOUNCE movement. It is BOUNCE’s long-term aim that these standards be used to develop a framework for sustainable rubber, and a stamp of approval that consumers understand and trust.
