Thai farmers tap into sustainable rubber industry

By the light of a head torch, Wanida Hityim deftly strips bark from a rubber tree, collecting the milky latex as she explains why she’s among a small number of Thai farmers trying to work more sustainably.

As the world’s largest producer of natural rubber — supplying more than a third of global stocks in 2021 — Thailand’s policies have stimulated massive deforestation, plummeting biodiversity and soaring soil erosion.