Rubber tires — a dirty business | DW Documentary
Summary
TLDRThis investigative report delves into the tire industry, revealing the origins and production conditions of tires in Southeast Asia. Highlighting Thailand as a major rubber producer, it uncovers poor working conditions, low wages, and the use of toxic chemicals on plantations. The script also examines the tire industry's sustainability claims, the challenges faced by retreading companies, and the reluctance of major tire manufacturers to discuss their supply chains, raising questions about corporate responsibility and environmental impact.
Takeaways
- 🚗 Summertime in Germany sees a preference for driving to holiday destinations, highlighting the importance of road safety and tire quality.
- 🔢 Over 50 million tires are sold annually in Germany, representing a multi-billion dollar industry.
- 🌏 Tire production is a global affair, with origins ranging from China and Japan to the Czech Republic.
- 🧐 The script raises concerns about the sustainability and conditions of tire production, prompting an investigation into the industry.
- 🌱 Thailand is the world's largest producer of natural rubber, with over 4 million tons harvested yearly, and Bangkok as its trade center.
- 🔍 Journalist V's extensive writings on the rubber industry reveal the significant role of the tire industry in Thailand.
- 😔 Workers on rubber plantations face harsh conditions, including low wages and lack of protective gear when using toxic chemicals.
- 💼 The rubber trade is controlled by brokers who dictate prices, leaving little room for negotiation and fair compensation for farmers.
- 🏭 The script describes the operations of rubber processing factories, some of which supply to well-known tire manufacturers, yet remain anonymous.
- 🌳 Rubber plantations are expanding at the expense of local communities and environments, as seen in Cambodia where indigenous lands are being taken over.
- 🔄 While the tire industry is booming, there is a lack of responsibility taken by manufacturers for the sustainability of their supply chains, as well as a missed opportunity for tire recycling and retreading.
Q & A
What is the importance of tires in terms of road safety?
-Tires are of paramount importance for road safety as they are crucial for a vehicle's grip, stability, and overall performance on the road.
How many tires are sold in Germany each year?
-More than 50 million tires are sold in Germany each year.
What is the significance of the tire industry in Thailand?
-Thailand is the world's biggest producer of natural rubber, and the tire industry plays a significant role in its economy, with rubber being harvested and tires being produced for global markets.
What challenges does the rubber plantation owner face in the script?
-The rubber plantation owner faces a drop in the price per kilo due to a market glut, which affects his income and the working conditions of his workers.
What are the living conditions of the Cambodian workers on the rubber plantation?
-The Cambodian workers live in decrepit huts, work long hours for low wages, and sometimes go without food during the rainy season when they can't work and don't get paid.
Why are the workers on the rubber plantation using paraquat, a toxic herbicide?
-The workers use paraquat to kill the grass, preventing snakes from hiding in it and potentially biting them. However, they are not aware of the severe health risks associated with the chemical.
What is the role of brokers in the rubber trade in Thailand?
-Brokers control the trade in the area, dictating the price of rubber, and the plantation owners have no right to negotiate. They also supply rubber to well-known firms, often anonymously.
How does the rubber industry impact the indigenous communities in Cambodia?
-The rubber industry has led to the loss of fertile fields and land for indigenous communities, who have seen their lands bought by international companies, resulting in displacement and hardship.
What is the position of tire manufacturers on the use of retread tires for private cars?
-Tire manufacturers like Goodyear offer retread tires for commercial vehicles and aircraft but not for private cars, which make up the majority of vehicles, citing various reasons such as performance and safety specifications.
What are the environmental and financial benefits of using retread tires?
-Retread tires are more environmentally friendly as they require significantly less natural rubber compared to new tires. They also offer financial savings to consumers and help in reducing waste.
What is the stance of the German Rubber Manufacturers Association (WDK) on sustainability and social responsibility?
-The WDK and its members recognize their social responsibility and have a code of conduct that includes values of integrity and fairness. They aim to promote sustainably produced natural rubber but acknowledge the challenges in influencing conditions at every level of the supply chain.
Outlines
🚗 Tire Industry and Sustainability Concerns
This paragraph discusses the importance of tire safety in Germany, where over 50 million tires are sold annually. It raises questions about the origins and production conditions of tires, highlighting the narrator's personal dilemma about tire sustainability. The narrator visits Greifen Stiebling, a large independent tire dealer, to inquire about tire production locations and sustainability, only to find that customers show little interest in these aspects. The dealer assures that big-name manufacturers prioritize sustainability, suggesting that buying from them would be a conscientious choice.
🌴 Exploring Rubber Plantations in Thailand
The paragraph delves into Thailand's role as the world's largest producer of natural rubber, with over 4 million tons harvested annually. The narrator meets a journalist to discuss the tire industry's impact on Thailand and the difficulty of obtaining information from industry insiders. A visit to a rubber plantation in Kau Kamau district reveals the process of rubber harvesting and the plantation owner's transition from rainforest to rubber cultivation. The harsh living and working conditions of Cambodian workers on the plantation are exposed, including low wages, long hours, and inadequate housing.
🛠️ Rubber Processing and Labor Conditions
This section describes the journey of rubber from plantation to processing, with a focus on the labor conditions of workers. The paragraph reveals the use of toxic chemicals like paraquat in rubber plantations, the lack of protective gear for workers, and the exploitation of Cambodian workers who earn below the minimum wage. It also touches on the rubber trade dynamics, where brokers dictate prices and plantation owners have no negotiation rights, leading to anonymous factory supply chains.
🌱 Rubber Plantations and Indigenous Communities
The paragraph examines the plight of indigenous communities in Cambodia, whose lands have been taken over by international companies for rubber plantations. The villagers of Kak have lost their fertile fields to rubber tree cultivation, leading to food scarcity and displacement. The paragraph also describes the expansion of rubber harvesting in Cambodia, which continues to grow at a rate of 6-7% annually, and the environmental and social consequences of this expansion.
🏭 Tire Manufacturers and Social Responsibility
The focus shifts to tire manufacturers' social responsibility and their sourcing practices. The narrator attempts to engage with major tire producers like Bridgestone, Continental, and Goodyear about their supply chains and labor practices but faces a lack of transparency and accountability. The German Rubber Manufacturers Association (WDK) is also approached, revealing a code of conduct that claims social responsibility but acknowledges the difficulty in influencing conditions at the farmer level.
🔄 Tire Retreading and Environmental Impact
The final paragraph discusses the environmental impact of tire production and the alternative of tire retreading. It presents the case for retreading as a more sustainable option, requiring significantly less new rubber and offering comparable performance to new tires. Despite this, retreads face an image problem and are often overlooked in favor of new tires, even by authorities that prioritize sustainability. The paragraph concludes with the narrator choosing retread tires for their family vacation, reflecting on the balance between safety, sustainability, and personal choice.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Vacation
💡Tires
💡Sustainability
💡Natural Rubber
💡Rubber Plantations
💡Working Conditions
💡Environmental Issues
💡Multinational Corporations
💡Retreading
💡Recycling
💡Ethical Sourcing
Highlights
In Germany, road safety is highly dependent on tires, which are a multi-billion dollar business with over 50 million sold annually.
The origin and sustainability of tires are not commonly considered by consumers, despite being a significant factor for dealers.
Southeast Asia, particularly Thailand, is central to the global rubber trade, being the largest producer of natural rubber.
Access to rubber plantations and the tire industry in Thailand is restricted, indicating a desire for secrecy within the industry.
Rubber plantation workers in Thailand face poor living and working conditions, including low wages and exposure to toxic chemicals.
The rubber industry in Thailand has grown 300% in the last 30 years, leading to environmental and social concerns.
Tire manufacturers prioritize sustainability but often fail to ensure fair working conditions throughout their supply chain.
Cambodian rubber plantation workers receive even lower wages and face worse living conditions than their Thai counterparts.
Land grabbing by international companies has led to the displacement of indigenous communities in Cambodia.
Tire manufacturers are reluctant to disclose their suppliers, indicating a lack of transparency in the industry.
The German Rubber Manufacturers Association (WDK) has a code of conduct, but its effectiveness in improving conditions is questionable.
Tire retreading is a more sustainable practice that uses significantly less natural rubber compared to producing new tires.
Despite environmental benefits, tire retreading faces an image problem and is often overlooked in favor of new tires.
Independent tire testing shows that retread tires can match the performance of new tires when produced from high-quality originals.
The narrative concludes with a personal choice for sustainability, opting for retread tires for a family vacation.
Transcripts
summertime is vacation time
here in germany most car owners still
prefer to drive
even to distant holiday destinations
when it comes to road safety
tires are of course of paramount
importance
more than 50 million are sold each year
in germany alone
it's a multi-billion dollar business but
where do these tires come from
and under what conditions are they
produced
the tires of my family car are well past
their prime
they're getting old and are a bit
brittle the need to replace them ahead
of a family vacation has got me thinking
about the origin and sustainability of
tires on the market
greifen stiebling a family-run business
is one of the biggest independent
dealers in western germany
i'd like to buy a set of new summer
tires and want some advice
the store stocks the standard brands
they're all good quality
but i have a different question on my
mind
can i tell where a tire was produced is
that possible
yeah yes made in china
japan the czech republic tires are
clearly produced all
around the world are customers
interested under what conditions the
tires are produced
very few to be honest the customers
aren't interested in sustainability
how the tires are produced for us it is
of course an important factor
but very few customers are interested to
be honest
but the sales advisor is convinced that
his products meet sustainability
standards
so i could buy any of these with a clear
conscience
big name manufacturers place a lot of
importance on sustainability
so i think it would be better to stick
with them because you can be sure that
they
are aware of environmental issues
and so i think you can buy tires with a
clear conscience
we want to make our own assessment so we
head off for southeast asia
thailand is the world's biggest producer
of natural rubber
more than 4 million tons of it are
harvested on its plantations each year
over the last 30 years production here
has grown by 300 percent
bangkok is the center of the rubber
trade
we're meeting journalist v interrupt
who's written extensively about the
industry
even from the car it's clear what a big
role the tire industry plays in thailand
after all it's not just natural rubber
that is produced here
but many tires are too they're then
shipped around the world in containers
but it's not easy to get a glimpse
inside the business here
well as the rubber industries
play playing the important role
to thai economy so um i think
the people in this industry might want
to keep some secret
with them so it's quite a bit difficult
to
to get information from from them
[Music]
our first stop is in kau kamau district
southeast of bangkok
large amounts of rubber are grown here
thanks to these contacts we gain access
to one of the plantations
the owner inherited the plantation from
his parents
in the past this area was rainforest my
parents cleared the whole area and
started cultivating it
first they planted rice and sugarcane
but later they switched
the plantation begins right behind his
house
for the first time we see how rubber is
harvested
the rubber latex strips out of an
incision in the bark of a tree
it can be harvested in a liquid state or
through the addition of vinegar as
they're doing here
to get the rubber to solidify and
harvest it in solid pieces
employs more than 50 workers on his
plantation
later we will discover what kind of
conditions they live in
bowser pot has just planted new rubber
trees despite a glut
on the market that's driven a steady
drop in the price per kilo
we used to earn good money with our
rubber
if the plantation owner himself is
feeling the pinch
what about his workers on the edge of
the plantation we find their decrepit
huts the workers all come from
neighboring cambodia
they're willing to work for lower wages
than ties
i work 12 hours a day 5 days a week
sometimes more
night has fallen on bowser plantation
it's the best time to harvest rubber the
cambodians are getting ready to go to
work
their night shift starts at eight pm and
ends at about five in the morning
with just head torches for light they
slice deeper and deeper grooves into the
tree trunks to keep the milky latex
[Music]
flowing
now has been working on the plantation
with her family for the past seven years
the 23 year old can't read or write
i earn very little here between 4 000
and 5
000 a month
hard night shifts for a mere 140 euros a
month
that's around half of the minimum wage
in thailand
which is itself hardly generous
the family always gathers at five in the
morning to eat
but sometimes they have to go without
in the rainy season we can't work and
don't get paid
then we often don't have anything to eat
and have to go hungry
when it gets light nah's daughter heads
off to school
she only gets to see her mother briefly
the rest of the family is going to bed
they own just two mattresses shared
between eight
family members
[Music]
[Music]
outside is nas brother his job today
spraying herbicide he's using the
extremely toxic product
paraquat long outlawed in europe
da feels safe wearing a mask
what the 25 year old doesn't realize is
that paraquat can also be absorbed
through the skin and can lead to severe
kidney
liver and heart damage he should by no
means be working without protective
clothing in shorts
but no one has told him that
since before the harvest we have to kill
the grass with poisonous chemicals
otherwise snakes could hide in the grass
between the trees and bite us
this is what it looks like before the
herbicide is used and this is what it
looks
like afterwards
the chemicals remain in the ground for
months not a single worker here is
wearing protective gloves
after the harvest boast sells his rubber
to the woman who controls the trade in
the area
a broker she dictates the price
as tradition has it he has no right to
negotiate
[Music]
[Music]
from here we send the latex to our
partner factory for processing
then our rubber is sent on to many
well-known firms
such as goodyear for example
we ask what factory she supplies
she calls to ask whether she can
disclose their name
but the company prefers to remain
anonymous
undeterred we decide to follow a truck
we want to know who processes the rubber
[Music]
our journey ends outside the gates of
the tai hua rayong rubber factory
which is mainly in chinese hands
we ask for permission to film but we're
immediately turned away
and told in no uncertain terms that a
written request
is also pointless from above it's
possible to get an idea of the scale of
the factory that supplies the processed
commodity to manufacturers worldwide
then unexpectedly we do get a chance to
look around a rubber factory
although it's considerably smaller
the owner shows us around her company
also supplies tai hua riyang rubber
among others and mainly processes liquid
latex
the workers here are thai not cambodian
we ask whether they get the minimum wage
of 9000 baht around two hundred sixty
euros
i earn five thousand baht a month but
when the price of rubber goes up again i
might earn twenty thousand
they carry on hoping for better times
the minimum wage is nine thousand baht
but
these people can never have nine
thousand a month no because we didn't
pay like a daily
we pay off the data we like say 50 50
what we but we said we can sell like if
we can sell like
um 2 000 they get 1000 we get 1000 as
the owner
so the employees are not employees but
get a share of the profits
it's that easy to undercut thailand's
scanty minimum wage
behind the factory is the factory's own
rubber plantation amid the trees
a ramshackle hut
not far away we meet an elderly couple
collecting rubber
will i be i'm over 80.
and i've been working here for 50 years
back then the old gentleman was the boss
and the plantation was high up in the
mountains
his wife live in grinding poverty while
the tire industry boasts worldwide sales
of more than 1.2 billion car tires
[Applause]
we decide to confront the big name tire
manufacturers based in thailand
but japanese multinational bridgestone
the world's biggest tire producer
declines our request for an interview
none of the manufacturers are willing to
reveal their suppliers
we try the german firm continental which
has recently opened a new production
plant close to the city of ryong
we contacted them several times before
our arrival asking for an interview
but most requests went unanswered just
like this one
continental which is based in hanover is
the world's fourth biggest tire producer
and so it has a particular
responsibility when it comes to
determining working conditions in the
sector
we hear that the living conditions of
people on rubber plantations in
neighboring cambodia are even worse than
in thailand
so we decide to head there
[Music]
from the capital phnom penh we travel
north
like in thailand there are rubber
plantations as far as the eye can see
with the help of our interpreter we try
to arrange a visit to a rubber
processing plant
we made several written requests for
permission to film
and while we don't get that we are
allowed to watch production
[Music]
here too the natural rubber is delivered
in either solid
or liquid form
the people running the factory tell us
they supply their product to all parts
of the globe
in the season we have to work from six
in the morning to ten at night
sometimes less when there's nothing to
do
workers are housed on the other side of
the street
often the mothers fathers and their
older children work together in the
factory
or on the firm's own plantation
it's a tough life
[Music]
factory workers are usually better off
than plantation workers
here they even have their own bathroom
and a kitchen of sorts
good we normal workers usually earn
around 150
a month in the factory for a seven day
week
on top of that we get this accommodation
free electricity
and 20 kilos of rice a month
in the high season we sometimes earn 250
dollars a month
we travel on to the ratanakiri province
in northeast cambodia
here many indigenous communities live
together in villages
and farm the land one of these villages
is kak
or the tanli-san river
[Music]
until recently the people here worked
their fields and lived modestly but
well in accordance with their own
traditions
but those times are over their fertile
fields were practically stolen from them
big international companies bought the
land from the government
land that had been in the community's
hands for generations
amid the global hunger for natural
rubber the villagers fields were plowed
up to plant rubber trees
today the community has lost almost all
its
but we didn't have a chance
they've taken everything from us many
families have nothing to eat
the village chief and
sixty-five-year-old pujan
show us their land
here where their crops once grew we find
a lunar landscape ready for planting new
rubber trees
[Music]
the company took our fields and graves
and now they've even stripped bare our
sacred mountain
the people of refused to work for
these new masters
on their own fields like many other
villages
they're demanding the return of their
land but they don't have much hope
in the meantime new settlements have
sprung up on their fields
they house women and men who have moved
to the area to work on the rubber
plantations
they too live in desperate conditions
every year the rubber harvest in
cambodia grows by six to seven percent
and end to this growth is not in sight
on the edge of the plantation the next
field is being burned off to clear the
vegetation
and make space for even more rubber
trees
for even more rubber for car tires
we've seen enough and fly back to
germany to confront the tire industry
with our findings
we try our luck again at continental
headquarters in hanover
in 2018 the automotive supplier had a
turnover of 44.4 billion euros
no one here wants to be interviewed but
they do at least give a written reply to
some of our questions
continental uses natural commodities
conscientiously
and develops promotes and implements
sustainable and responsible sourcing of
natural rubber across the value chain
the statement continues continental is
aware of its responsibility and aims to
make an active and responsible
contribution
to promoting sustainably produced
natural rubber
continental also refers to its code of
conduct
since 2011 all our suppliers have had to
agree to abide by our business partner
code of conduct
we continue on to frankfurt to the
german rubber manufacturers association
the wdk
many tire manufacturers are among its
members
it's headquartered in a villa in the
city center
boris engelhardt is wdk's managing
director
the lobby group also has a code of
conduct
it sounds good at first the wdk and its
members recognize their social
responsibility to their own company to
customers and suppliers
to the environment and to society the
actions of the companies are guided in
particular by the values of integrity
and
fairness
this code of conduct has existed for
some time now
it provided the basis for this
sustainability charter that stipulates
that we're responsible for the people
who are employed across this rubber
value chain
but we can't influence everything right
down to the farmer
some farmers
then it would reach the first echelon of
traders but there are seven other
traders beneath them so you never reach
the farmer in end effect
we showed boris engelhardt our footage
from the rubber plantations
[Music]
that shocking it's definitely shocking i
can't find any excuse or explanation for
that
we now definitely have to look to the
future
like continental the other market
leaders bridgestone and michelin
also don't want to give us an interview
we try our luck in hannah near frankfurt
where the world's third biggest tire
manufacturer is based
goodyear but we have no success here
goodyear simply responds with a written
statement
goodyear doesn't buy natural rubber from
cambodia we source less than five
percent of our global requirements for
natural rubber from thailand
it goes on we're committed to the
responsible sourcing of raw materials
including
natural rubber
the statement continues
we offer retread tires for commercial
vehicles and aircraft
reducing the use of natural rubber
but why does goodyear retread the tires
of commercial vehicles and planes
and not the tires of private cars which
make up the vast majority of vehicles
we visit germany's only big retreader
for automobiles
hyphen house here worn down treads of
tires are peeled off and replaced with
new ones
this is start safely if we look at this
tire here
we can see only its surface is worn
so essentially the product is disposed
of when only about 20 percent of it is
worn
that's absurd
in germany there's no legal obligation
to recycle tires
obike julius has to source most of the
old tires that he needs from france or
spain
what happens to used tires in germany
there are various disposal methods but
usually the tires are shredded and
supplied to cement works which burn the
tires for fuel
but now because we have a surplus of old
tires some cement works have stopped
taking them
or instead of paying for them they get
paid to use them as fuel
in germany some 200 000 tons of old
tires go up in smoke each year
while more and more rubber plantations
are being established in southeast asia
to satisfy the hunger for rubber of
course the retreading process also
requires fresh rubber
but about 70 to 80 percent less than is
needed to produce
new tires that's a tire that has been
produced in exactly the same way as a
new tire
the production steps were identical we
have to fulfill identical legal
requirements
we conform to international standards we
have the same speed ratings
these tires have to match up to new ones
in every way
tire retreads have an image problem
as obika julius knows all too well
a local authority issued a call for
tenders for equipping police vehicles
with winter tires
and this call categorically ruled out
retreads
and that's even though the government
always maintains that it places
importance on sustainability
and no one has been able to explain to
me to this day what data or facts
this decision was based upon
we would also be interested in finding
out why police in the city of
weklinghausen decided against
retread tires and here too
our request for an interview was
declined instead they issue
a written statement on emergency
call-outs our vehicles face
extreme situations police cars have to
be able to cope with greater strains
than normal vehicles on the road
but recklinghausen police don't say why
a retread wouldn't be
up to the job
we traveled to the northern german state
of schleswigstein
to one of germany's few independent tire
testing laboratories
we have an appointment with an expert
peter kleingan
the police in recklinghausen say they
can't use retreads because they don't
meet their high specifications
can that be true
no we've been testing new tyres for
decades now
if a retread is produced from a high
quality worn tyre
then it will match the performance of a
new tire
and the police and the public in general
should consider the environmental and
financial arguments in favor of retreads
we can definitely say that modern
retread plants in europe
are so advanced that their products can
compete with new tires
i decided to go for retreads this time
and i wonder how my workshop will
respond
first of all the tires have to be
balanced
30 30. what does that mean
basically they can be easily balanced
there are some big name brands that
aren't that good
i'm curious to see how they perform on
the road
this time i've opted for sustainability
i'm also confident they're safe too
and with peace of mind i set off on my
family vacation
[Music]
you
浏览更多相关视频
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)