Schwalbe increasingly confirms its position as a company that cares about environmental sustainability. Maximum attention is in fact paid to the recycling of used covers. At the same time, the German company is concerned about those who operate at the beginning of its production chain. In recent weeks, it has decided to increase its product range. the amount of rubber coming from fair trade, thus becoming the only tire manufacturer to use rubber from this source. It should be remembered that rubber is one of the most important raw materials for the production of bicycle tires.
An important support
Together with the association Fair Rubber eV, three years ago Schwalbe has decided to support those who operate at the beginning of their production chain. For every kilo of natural rubber, Schwalbe has decided to pay 50 euro cents more directly to small farmers and rubber extractorsThis corresponds to about a third of the current market price. Thanks to this small but significant contribution, farmers' living conditions have improved. Local schools have been renovated, ensuring children have access to education.
"Schwalbe demonstrates responsibility in practice," commented Stefan Hörmann, Managing Director of Fair Rubber eV, "by being a pioneer in the field of fair-trade natural rubber. Together with Fair Rubber eV, Schwalbe began directly supporting the people who work on rubber trees in 2020.At the end of the supply chain, tires with a history of solidarity are available in stores. I'm thrilled with what we've achieved together so far."
Products are increasing
Thanks to the collaboration with Fair Rubber eV, Schwalbe has increased the number of tire models produced using Fairtrade rubber six-fold. All the tyres gravel bikes from the G-One series, the 3 Pro One road models (Tubeless, Clincher & TT) and the Nobby Nic, Magic Mary, and Big Betty mountain bike tires in the Evolution Line are now made of Fairtrade rubber. Previously, the Schwalbe Pick-Up cargo bike tire and the Marathon E-Plus e-bike tire were the first tires to be made using Fairtrade rubber, as was the Marathon Plus Wheelchair, the first wheelchair tire made with Fairtrade rubber.
«In the 2021 CSR report – declared Felix Jahn, Head of CSR at Schwalbe – We have set ourselves the goal of increasing our collaboration with Fair RubberIt is important for us to have reached this milestone and to have increased the number of people involved in the Fair Rubber eV program. They have increased from 277 in 2020 to 2320 in 2022. In this way, more and more farmers benefit from fair trade. This allows us to obtain large quantities of natural rubber obtained in a fair trade manner. to be used for the production of numerous other tire models. However, we haven't reached the end. We are working intensively with Fair Rubber EV to continuously increase capacity."
