Green is good. That is the daily message we receive from the media. The focus that we, as consumers, maintain should be on green cars, green buildings, green plastic and now even green rubber. With products made from a desert plant called guayule, (such as latex gloves especially) this is proving easier and easier to do.

Most rubber is derived from hevea, a para rubber tree product. Native to Brazil, para rubber trees were transplanted to Southeast Asia where they have been bred carefully to increase hevea production. Today, most rubber comes from this region of the world, with the synthetically produced balance from petroleum. While most rubber is inherently organic, it's true that it's not necessarily "green"-at least not as green as guayule.

The benefits of using environmentally-friendly rubber derived from the guayule plant are simple to see, beginning with proximity. Whereas guayule can be grown in northern Mexico and the southwestern United States, hevea, the other natural source of latex rubber, must be grown in tropical climates. Because of reduced fuel usage, since guayule is grown so close to home, the cost to the environment is lower than importing hevea-based rubber from overseas.

A second green benefit presented is guayule's location. Unlike the common hevea rubber produced from para rubber trees grown in tropical areas, guayule is a tremendously hearty plant. To keep its health it does not require any chemical pesticides because it's naturally resistant. To remain healthy para rubber trees require chemical pesticides because they are tremendously susceptible to leaf blight. Guayule's natural pest resistance is significant since chemical pesticides have been associated with various health and environmental risks.

Guayule can be used as an ethanol feedstock; a third green attribute. Guayule is not a food source, unlike corn, which is commonly used to make ethanol, and therefore does not impact the world's food source in availability or price. The food supply in the market, in some situations, has been impacted by the demand for corn to produce ethanol. Since guayule is not a food source, that's not an issue.

Guayule is an excellent source of hypoallergenic natural rubber latex, finally. It's estimated that 10 percent of the U.S. population has a latex allergy; hevea latex allergies are a serious issue. Most hypoallergenic latex is derived from petroleum-based synthetic rubber, currently. A natural source of hypoallergenic rubber is fundamentally superior to rubber synthesized from petroleum, obviously.

Because of import restrictions, leaf blight decimation, and common latex allergies among health care providers guayule gained popularity throughout the 20th century. Although more rubber can be produced from a single para rubber tree than a guayule plant, the overall greenness, locale, energy-producing potential and hypoallergenic qualities of the guayule plant is unbeatable.

The question now is how do green-conscious consumers support this product? Local farmers in the southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico, along with the Yulex Corporation, are producing the crop and working to manufacture latex products from it. To invest in the success of the environment and the affordability of guayule produced rubber products, a sure way is to find ways to support these entities.