Lieferantenpartner für fair gehandelten Kautschuk
Fair Rubber works with a wide variety of supplier partners in five countries. These include both small and large plantations, as well as groups of smallholder farmers and tappers who have joined forces.
Plantation management is responsible for ensuring compliance with Fair Rubber standards. Smallholder farmers are responsible for this themselves.
Fair Trade premium payments go directly to Fair Rubber e.V.’s supplier partners. The people themselves decide how the premiums are used: Plantations have “joint bodies” made up of workers and management representatives who democratically decide on the allocation. For supplier groups, this is done at their general assembly of members.
Fair Rubber currently works with the following suppliers of fair-trade natural rubber products:
India
- New Ambadi, a plantation in southern India
- Velimalai Rubber Co. Ltd., a plantation group in southern India
Sri Lanka
- Frocester, a plantation belonging to the Horana Group, the first partner
- Lalan Rubbers Ltd., a plantation group
- Associated Speciality Rubber Latex Farmers, a smallholder cooperative
- Kelani Valley Plantations Ltd., with two plantations
Thailand
- Green Net Cooperative, an association of small-scale coconut and rubber farmers
- Klong Pom Phatthana 95, a group of small-scale farmers in Hat Yai
- Surat Thani Sustainable Rubber Producers Association (SRA), a large group of small-scale farmers
- Sadao Group, a small group of rubber tappers
- Ban Wang Sai Fair Trade Rubber Group (BWS), a very small group of small-scale farmers
Indonesia
- Yayasan Adil Makmur Sejahtera Cikulur, a group of smallholder farmers and rubber tappers
- Yayasan Cahaya Nuwa, another Indonesian group of smallholder farmers and rubber tappers
Malaysia
- Kuala Lumpur Kepong Berhad (KLK), a large plantation company
New Ambadi, India
Der Fair Rubber e.V New Ambadi plantation is located at the southern tip of India, not far from Cape Kanyakumari. About 400 rubber tappers and another 200 field workers are employed here. Rubber is cultivated on approximately 582 hectares. The centrifuge plant on the plantation grounds produces high-quality Cenex liquid rubber (e.g., for condoms or mattresses). New Ambadi is also one of the first partners in fair trade rubber, and the operating company has an excellent reputation as a socially responsible employer. The plantation hospital, which is free of charge for patients, also serves all the surrounding villages. In recent years, the premiums have been used, among other things, for medical care, educational scholarships, small loans for weddings or house construction, as well as community projects such as school toilets and rain jackets for schoolchildren. In addition, the employee representative body at New Ambadi established the world’s first supplementary pension fund in the rubber plantation sector.
Velimalai Rubber, India
Velimalai Rubber Co. Ltd. is a joint venture between two plantation groups in the southern Indian states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Approximately 40 to 50 rubber tappers work on the plantations. Their rubber is processed at the Kurian Abraham factory, which specializes in rubber gloves and also supplies latex for condom production.
Frocester, Sri Lanka
Der Fair Rubber e.V Frocester plantation is part of the Horana Group. It is located in the hilly southern region of Sri Lanka, about eleven kilometers from the town of Horana. The plantation primarily produces rubber, along with smaller quantities of cinnamon. Approximately 400 people work on the plantation and in the factory. Most of the workers are housed in homes on the plantation. Fair Trade rubber from the Frocester Plantation is used in products such as sneakers and hot water bottles. The Fair Rubber premiums have funded several water tanks, the construction of a training center, and a bridge connecting various parts of the plantation to the nearest town (school, hospital). During the COVID-19 pandemic, the premiums were used to provide employees with food packages.
Lalan Rubbers, Sri Lanka
Lalan Rubbers Ltd. consists of a group of 13 plantations located in various parts of Sri Lanka. Lalan’s involvement in Fair Trade began even before Fair Rubber e.V. was founded. To this day, Lalan Rubbers remains a key supplier partner of the association. Lalan natural rubber is used in products such as household and gardening gloves, rubber bands, balloons, and mattresses. Unfortunately, following a fire at the mattress factory, this supply chain was interrupted for a time. In the meantime, a completely new facility has been built—and the Fair Rubber premiums are flowing again. The premium was used, for example, to improve the drinking water supply for hundreds of families, purchase playground equipment for kindergartens, and restore a bridge that had been severely damaged by a truck. In addition, the Fair Rubber premium helped to repair the roofs of the homes of employees and their families.
Associated Speciality Rubber Farmers, Sri Lanka
About 560 smallholder farmers and rubber tappers in the heart of Sri Lanka have formed a cooperative that supplies its raw material to Associated Speciality Rubbers (ASR). There, the natural rubber is processed into various grades of dry and liquid rubber, including specialty products. ASR is an unusual processor: it tries to pay its members and suppliers a better price—but market pressures do not allow for this. The Fair Rubber premium is intended to fill this gap. Each year, the cooperative elects a committee in which all 20 latex collection centers must be represented. In exchange for a small monthly fee, members benefit from the premium. At Christmas, they receive a food package from ASR worth more than the membership fee. The Fair Rubber premium is invested in education: for example, schoolchildren have received vouchers for school supplies, and university students have received financial support.
Kelani Valley Plantations, Sri Lanka
Kelani Valley Plantations Ltd., based in the Yaninatota region of Sri Lanka, has been a member of Fair Rubber since 2021 with two of its rubber plantations. Kelani Valley holds FSC (Forest Stewardship Council™) certification for all of its plantations. One of the two rubber plantations is also certified organic. In addition to rubber, the company cultivates tea, cinnamon, and coconuts and employs approximately 10,000 people. The natural rubber produced by Kelani Valley is mainly used as sole crepe, latex crepe, and centrifuged latex. The employees and their families benefit from the Fair Rubber premiums. These have been invested, among other things, in energy-saving emergency light bulbs for the workers, which function reliably even during power outages and offer a more environmentally friendly alternative.
Green Net Kooperative, Thailand
Der Fair Rubber e.V Green Net Cooperative (GNC) has been registered as a “service cooperative” with the Thai Ministry of Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives since 1993. GNC is a social enterprise that promotes organic farming and fair trade. Sixty-six of its members are certified for organic coconuts and, more recently, for natural rubber. Of particular importance for Fair Trade: The farmers share all benefits from the Fair Rubber premiums with the rubber tappers—who are often migrants and work under harsh conditions. They tap the rubber early in the morning when it is cold. This is because as soon as the sun rises, the latex milk coagulates too quickly. GNC’s natural rubber is used to manufacture flip-flops.
Klong Pom Phatthana 95, Thailand
In southern Thailand (Hat Yai District), 68 smallholder farmers have joined forces to form the Klong Pom Phatthana 95 group. As producer partners, they receive the Fair Trade premium paid by the members of Fair Rubber e.V. This allows them to at least break even when market prices fluctuate and to earn a living from tapping natural rubber. They supply the collected latex milk for the production of condoms as well as soothing and teething products for babies.
Surat Thani Sustainable Rubber Producers, Thailand
