Is Natural Rubber a Viable Replacement for Some Plastics?

Plastics have recently replaced natural rubber for many of the uses that it had been put to since Europeans first got interested in the stuff back in the 1700′s. 42% of the rubber that is produced worldwide is natural, the rest is synthesized from petroleum. Of that 42%, a small fraction is Fair Trade certified rubber. This stuff is made into sporting goods and condoms and marketed to obsessively ethical consumers. I think it would be pretty cool if a significant portion of the plastics that are being produced and consumed could be replaced with biodegradable, responsibly produced rubber. I do not know how possible this is. I would rather have a rubber raincoat than a plastic one. Everyone who reads Mother Jones knows that I don’t use condoms, but if I did I might consider using Fair Trade Condoms. As an interesting side note, the guy who brought rubber back from the New World to Portugal and showed it off got charged with witchcraft.