From Rubber Tree to Rubber Tyre: A Brief History of Rubber

Elastic, versatile, indispensable: rubber has had an amazing career – from ritual play ball of the Maya to vulcanisation in the industrial age to high-tech tyres on our roads. But with every kilometre driven, the ecological footprint also grows. Reason enough to take a look back at the eventful history of a special material that keeps us moving to this day.

What do rubber and an ancient ball game have in common? A lot! Over 3,000 years ago, peoples such as the Olmecs, Maya and Aztecs tapped the white milky sap from the rubber tree – what we know today as natural rubber. They used it to make not only weatherproof clothing and drinking vessels, but also elastic balls. These bounced around on the ritual playing fields. Who would have thought that the ancestor of our car tyres was flying through the air in Mexico – in the Mesoamerican ball game?

Europe's first encounter with rubber is bumpy: in the 18th century, explorers bring samples home. But the material smells strange, sticks in the heat and crumbles in the cold – not a big seller. It is only when Edward Nairne, a London instrument maker, accidentally discovers in 1770 that it can be used to remove pencil marks that it finds a purpose. He began selling small pieces of rubber as erasers. In the same year, chemist Joseph Priestley described the ability to ‘rub’ writing and gave the material its name: rubber.

Sometimes it takes a little chaos for great discoveries to be made. In 1839, entrepreneur and amateur researcher Charles Goodyear accidentally dropped a mixture of rubber and sulphur onto a hot stove – and lo and behold: instead of melting, the mixture became elastic and robust. Vulcanisation was born. Suddenly, natural rubber was suitable for everyday use: weather-resistant, resilient and durable. And yes, without Goodyear, not a single car would be on the road today – even though he himself never saw a car. The man died in 1860 – a full 25 years before the automobile was invented.

In 1888, a dentist enters the scene: John Boyd Dunlop tinkers with an air-filled tyre for his son's tricycle. The effect? Less rumbling, more riding comfort – a revolution on wheels. The automotive industry soon adopted the principle. The first car with pneumatic tyres drove through Clermont-Ferrand, France, in 1895, home of the future tyre giant Michelin. The tyre was engineered, stabilised and mass-produced. And suddenly everything was turning – not only on the road, but also in industry.

Tyres are not yet a mass product – but the demand for elastic material is exploding. From the late 19th century onwards, the rubber trade experiences a global boom. Huge plantations are established in Brazil and later in Southeast Asia. Natural rubber is in demand for bicycle tyres, telegraph cables, machine belts – and increasingly also for the emerging automobiles.

The boom had a dark side: colonial exploitation, brutal working conditions and massive environmental destruction. Although the growing demand for elastic materials was a driver of progress, it also raised early questions about how global raw materials could be used fairly and responsibly.

After the raw material shortages of the First World War, the National Socialists focused on independence – including in the field of rubber. Together with the chemical industry, IG Farben developed the synthetic rubber Buna, a copolymer of butadiene and styrene.

In 1936, the first car tyre made from this material was publicly unveiled. This was not only a technical step, but also a political one: in future, tyres could be manufactured without having to rely on imports of natural rubber.

Buna became a strategic resource during the war years and later became the industry standard. The fact that IG Farben cooperated closely with the Nazi regime is one of the dark chapters in this development.

Used tyres are a global problem today – and a huge resource. Every year, over a billion tyres end up in landfills worldwide. Too big for landfill, too good for incineration. The good news is that companies, start-ups and research institutes are now working on solutions. From pyrolysis and retreading to high-quality rubber recyclates. The industry is at a turning point. And what used to end up in the dustbin of history could soon be rolling into a sustainable future as a new raw material.

Rubber has a long and eventful history – and it is not over yet. While the material once paved the way for modernity, today it presents us with new challenges: How do we deal with the traces of decades of mobility? And how can a material that is so difficult to replace still be used sustainably?

The answers to these questions are currently being developed – in laboratories, in factories and in the waste disposal industry. One thing is certain: the rubber tyre remains a symbol of movement. The only question is, in which direction will we let it roll in the future?