Rubber Tires — A Dirty Business (2019)

The booming global tire market is worth billions - but this comes at a high price, both to humans and the environment. Over 50 million car tires are sold each year in Germany alone. But where does the natural rubber for them come from?

The biggest producer of natural rubber for tires is Thailand. More than four million tonnes of rubber are harvested annually in plantations there. And demand for rubber is ever growing - because ever more tires are needed. But the labor conditions in Southeast Asia are harsh - with working days of up to 12 hours and very low wages. In addition, toxic herbicides banned in Europe are used to fight weeds on the plantations. After the harvest, the ‘white gold’ rubber is sold to brokers, who, in turn, sell it on. German tire manufacturers, like Continental, for example, are keen to stress that they use "natural commodities conscientiously.” But many car drivers don’t give a second thought about where the rubber in their tires comes from - and why we don’t recycle used tires more effectively.

Consumerism   Environment
Rate this video 
Environment
Activist Philosophy & Reflection
Raising Children
Trending Videos
OMG: Trump HUMILIATED at His OWN Military Parade | Brian Tyler Cohen
9 min - For more from Brian Tyler Cohen: https://www.youtube.com/@briantylercohennews
Carl Sagan's Cosmos: A Personal Voyage (1980)
780 min - Astronomer Carl Sagan's landmark 13-part science series takes you on an awe-inspiring cosmic journey to the edge of the Universe and back aboard the spaceship of the imagination.The series was...
Louis Theroux: The Ultra Zionists (2011)
59 min - Louis Theroux spends time with a small and very committed subculture of ultra-nationalist Jewish settlers. He discovers a group of people who consider it their religious and political obligation...
Gavin Newsom Is Out Of F*cks To Give | The Kyle Kulinski Show
18 min - Support The Show On Patreon!: https://www.patreon.com/seculartalk
TraumaZone
350 min - An epic documentary by British director Adam Curtis illustrating in seven parts state and decline of the Soviet Union and the development in Russia 19851999 using material from the BBC archives.
Schooling the World (2010)
66 min - If you wanted to change an ancient culture in a generation, how would you do it? You would change the way it educates its children. The U.S. Government knew this in the 19th century when it...
The Need to GROW (2019) ($6)
96 min - With an estimated 60 years of farmable soil left on Earth, The Need To GROW offers an intimate look into the hearts of activists and innovators in the food movement - an 8 year old girl challenges...
Trending Articles
New Videos
Documentaries that Inspire Ecological Consciousness
Subscribe for $5/mo to Watch over 50 Patron-Exclusive Films
Subscribe $5/mo View All Patron Films

 

Your support keeps us ad-free and financially independent

Our 10,000+ video & article library is 99% free, ad-free, and entirely community-funded thanks to our patron subscribers!


Want to double your impact? You can subscribe for $10/mo or more as an extra show of support.