There has been an explosion of interest in regenerative agricultural practices industry-wide and sales of regenerative products grew by more than 20% from 2023 to 2024.

Regenerative agriculture can include a range of practices aimed to be more in harmony with nature, which help support soil health, farmer wellbeing, and thriving ecosystems and lead to greater resilience in the face of extreme weather or other growing environmental challenges that are the result of a changing climate.

For farmer partners practicing Wanakaset agroforestry in southern Thailand as part of the Regenerative Rubber Alliance, regeneration is about embracing a holistic way of living—one that deeply connects them to the land, the forest, and their community. Rubber farmers in Thailand practicing this philosophy have partnered with many different stakeholders facilitated by Terra Genesis, including local government, academics, material processors, exporters, buyers, and other industry actors, comprising the Regenerative Rubber Alliance (RRA). This initiative aims to scale regenerative rubber production from the 250+ existing farmers to thousands, impacting the biodiversity, carbon footprint, and farmer livelihoods of an entire watershed in Southern Thailand.

The RRA is the first verified regenerative rubber supply system. Brands that participate in the RRA recognize the opportunity that sourcing materials produced with regenerative practices has for their business – supporting progress on their net zero goals, nature aims, social commitments, and a more resilient supply chain. For example, VF Corporation, with popular consumer brands Timberland®, Vans®, and The North Face®, has integrated this rubber into shoes — now found on store shelves.

Many benefits of Wanakaset agroforestry are well-documented. Farmers experience significant increases in soil organic carbon, above-ground biomass, and income, while Wanakaset farms support vastly greater biodiversity and food sovereignty than monoculture rubber plantations. By shifting rubber production from an extractive model to one that fosters thriving ecosystems, this approach transforms rubber agriculture into a regenerative force. Yet, despite these compelling benefits, industry-wide adoption requires robust data, including those on carbon emissions, to drive broader buy-in and scale regenerative rubber production. Quantifying these impacts is critical in demonstrating to brands, policymakers, and investors that regenerative rubber is a viable solution for improving purchasing footprints and strengthening supply chain resilience.

While many benefits of regenerative agricultural practices are well known, the impact to carbon emissions is challenging to measure, and emission factors for many regeneratively grown crops simply do not exist. Developing a custom greenhouse gas (GHG) measurement could help suppliers understand the carbon footprint of regenerative practices and help demonstrate climate benefits and environmental impact.

Buyers in the RRA have determined the particular usefulness of a custom greenhouse gas (GHG) emission factor for this agroforestry supply. To meet this need, Terra Genesis and the RRA enlisted the climate and life cycle assessment expertise of leading sustainability consulting firm, Pure Strategies, to conduct a full carbon life cycle assessment of their regenerative natural rubber production model.

Regeneratively Produced Rubber Life Cycle Assessment

Pure Strategies and Terra Genesis began the process of developing the custom emission factor (EF) for this production system in 2024. The EF is based on primary data from twenty Regenerative Rubber Alliance farms that Terra Genesis works closely with. As all of the farms in the RRA practice agroforestry - growing food crops on the same land as rubber - the economic yield of both rubber and the secondary crops are taken into consideration when allocating the carbon impacts. This is a critical step when calculating the carbon footprint of agroforestry systems.

Terra Genesis collected and compiled the agronomy data from Thailand producers for Pure Strategies to generate a complete life cycle inventory. Pure Strategies’ LCA results will serve to complement the testing and data that has been collected over the past three years under the Ethos™ Regenerative Outcome Verification (ROV) Program. Moving forward, the Ethos™ ROV program will integrate key LCA questions to support continued validation of Life Cycle Inventory analysis as the program expands to new regions, creating a seamless opportunity to provide both accurate and timely LCA insights in an ongoing basis. Pure Strategies and Terra Genesis will submit the final data to the Higg Materials Sustainability Index (MSI) which is widely used across the apparel industry to score materials based on their environmental impact throughout the life cycle to support decision-making, product design, and carbon inventories. This submission will enable a direct comparison between the footprints of regenerative and conventional rubber agriculture.

In addition to RRA rubber, Pure Strategies is working with Terra Genesis to compile the life cycle inventory for RSS3 (smoked rubber sheets) with the RRA’s processors. Upon completion, custom EFs for RRA rubber and RSS3 will be available in the Higg Materials Sustainability Index.

The aim for including the study in the Higg MSI is to empower more companies to consider regeneratively produced materials as it is anticipated the study will demonstrate the carbon benefits of the rubber produced from regenerative agroforestry sources. When completed, the LCA results should also help to pinpoint the environmental benefits of regeneratively produced rubber.

“Pure Strategies’ expertise in agricultural life cycle assessment and primary data collection on the farm made them uniquely qualified to be our partner for this LCA of regenerative agroforestry rubber,” notes Lauren Dunteman, Senior Associate at Terra Genesis. “They understand the allocation and technical details needed to develop the emission factors in alignment with climate industry standards, and we look forward to completing the study and sharing the results for broader industry use.”

Photo: Farmer data collectors explore a mature rubber forest garden during a workshop on evaluating the biodiversity and structure of forest gardens Phatthalung, Thailand.

Photo courtesy Michael Commons