Rubber Trees
Rubber trees are usually grown on plantations in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia. On these plantations, workers cut a 5-mm-deep diagonal cut on the bark of the tree, which releases a white liquid that is captured by buckets hung at the base of the diagonal cut. The white liquid is natural latex.
Latex
Once the latex is captured from these trees (each one producing about 50 grams of latex each time it's milked), it's gathered and filtered to remove impurities. Next, the latex is mixed with acid in giant tubs for 10 hours to solidify the substance. The large, solid pieces of latex are then put on a conveyor belt, where they are squeezed and smashed down to remove acid. The once thick layers of latex are turned into thin, wafer-like pads, which are then shredded into tiny pieces and put through an oven. They come out of the oven in rectangular blocks about the size of a cake. The blocks are shipped overseas, where they become rubber.
Rubber Bands
Once a company receives the blocks of latex, they add sulfur and other ingredients to each block in a mixing oven, where they're kneaded and heated together, until they become the rubber we're familiar with. After the rubber is heated to 248 degrees Fahrenheit, it drops onto a roller, where it's flattened, cooled and cut into strips. These strips are then placed into a machine called an extruder, which turns the strips into tubes. Finally, one more machine cuts the tube into tiny pieces, which form the rubber bands we all know and use.
