Condom Factory Conserves Rainforest

The factory, in Xapuri, a remote province in the north-western state of Acre, aims to produce 100 million condoms a year by 2005, and 200 million by 2006. As well as helping to tackle the Aids virus, it is hoped the factory can spearhead sustainable development to the area, too. The latex extracted from the rubber trees in Xapuri has been tested successfully for condoms, and the factory will use only this latex. Currently, Xapuri extracts rubber only to make tyres, which is a totally different process. You will not only raise the price of rubber - adding value to it - you will at the same time tackle the rubber trees' destruction," Jose Maria Barbossa Bakierno, of the National Rubber-Tappers' Council, told Science In Action.