Natural rubber is a huge raw material import to this country, second only to petroleum. “Hevea brasiliensis”, the rubber tree, produces the latex which is present in our everyday products ranging from vehicle tires to medical latex gloves. Its pervasive presence is vital to our economics and common place in our daily functioning. We hardly give a second thought to its origins as the sap of an exotic foreign tree. Ironically, as we have experimented with even wider spread of latex’s usefulness, there has been a growing allergic response to its proteins amid our population.

During WWII, the powerful demand for this Asian natural resource put our country in a compromised position. To offset the latex shortage, we turned to an interesting plant that could be grown in the American Southwest, a lowly shrub called guayule (pronounced “why yoo lee”). A natural rubber was processed from the guayule bark. One ton of latex could be harvested from one acre of land. However, at the end of the war with world latex crops once again accessible, the demand for domestic guayule dissipated and guayule cultivation came to an end.

But in recent years, scientists and businessmen have once again investigated the potential of our domestic guayule, this time with an eye to a very interesting property: The latex from the guayule plant is free of allergy producing proteins.

Allergies to latex manifest themselves with varying degrees of discomfort and seriousness. The gamut runs anywhere from hay-fever like symptoms, blisters on the skin, breathing difficulties or to anaphylactic shock which can be a life or death situation. It is little wonder that medical patients are routinely queried about latex allergies. For the long-term safety of both patients and staff, growing numbers of medical environments are moving toward becoming latex-free environments.

With the new awareness of HIV in the’80’s, the use of latex gloves exploded in medical settings. Subsequently with this increased exposure, allergies to latex proteins had a dramatic rise. Today nitrile gloves or neoprene can provide a healthy alternative. But the prospect of an allergy free latex for medical supplies, as well as for other industrial applications, is a promising idea.

It turns out that the guayule bush has a lot more going for it than just its allergy free latex. Processing the latex from the plant only requires the use of pure water, no chemicals or environmentally threatening solvents. Being a desert native, it requires very little water for its cultivation and it does not compete for food crop acreage. Guayule is a perennial which ensures years of harvesting from a single planting. It is naturally resistant to insects and blight. The pulp that is left over after latex extraction which is called bagasse has many bio fuel possibilities. Guayule is indeed a little plant with big potential.

Jen is an experienced senior glove industry consultant and is the editor-in-chief of a growing online resource library that is aimed at educating and supporting anyone wearing disposable gloves. Jen suggests readers visit this collection of how-to and support: Living With Latex Gloves.