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This sticky white foam will soon become the core of one of the most expensive mattresses
you can buy.
It is made from natural latex, hand-harvested from rubber trees.
Unlike memory foam, natural latex cores are hypoallergenic, biodegradable and durable.
But these features come at a high price.
So, a king-size mattress made from one of these cores can cost $2,600.
By comparison, a memory foam mattress of the same size costs half as much.
So, how does the milky white sap of the tree make comfortable, relaxing mattresses, and
make them so expensive?
First of all, this is due to the difficulty of obtaining latex from rubber trees.
Rubber trees require a special microclimate.
They originated in South America and cannot grow in non-tropical areas due to the climate.
Therefore, today the main suppliers of 100% natural latex on the world market are the
countries of Southeast Asia, they supply over 90% of all products.
For these countries, this raw material is the same national treasure as oil is for Russia,
which is why it is often called “white gold”.
This is due to the suitable climate for the growth of the Hevea Brazilian tree, from which
rubber is produced.
For rapid growth, Hevea needs heat and moisture, the most suitable climate for this is in the
equatorial zone, the so-called "latex belt" 2600 kilometers wide, which stretches all
over the world.
Hevea is actively grown on artificial plantations, the largest of which are located in Vietnam.
The area occupied by Hevea trees is 800 thousand hectares here.
Every year, from one million to one and a half million tons of rubber juice is obtained
from them - this is 10% of the world indicators.
The country has a state program aimed at the development of rubber plantations, thanks
to which many hectares of neglected, unexploited land were taken into circulation and now they
specialize in growing Hevea Brasilica.
Also major suppliers of "white gold" are Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and a number of other
countries.
Hevea is a fairly tall tree with a height of 20 to 35 meters.
The trunk is straight, up to 30-50 cm thick, with a whitish bark.
The flowers are small, white-yellow, collected in loose brushes.
The content of rubber in the milky juice of a tree reaches 40-50%.
Rubber tree plantations have much less negative impact on the land than other crops and contribute
to much more biodiversity than other monoculture plants.
It takes about ten years of growth before a rubber tree starts producing enough latex.
This waiting period ensures the continuous planting of new rubber trees.
The latex pickers wake up at 3 am.
When most of the country is still sleeping, the latex tree pickers start a new working
day.
Latex is a milky liquid found in the bark of rubber trees.
Continuous tubes of latex, known as "latex vessels", grow in a spiral around the bark
of the rubber tree.
When harvested, the bark is very carefully peeled off to expose the latex vessels.
To collect the latex, groove-like incisions are made in the bark so as not to damage the
cambium.
The worker carefully cuts a spiral into the bark of the tree, allowing the sap to flow
freely.
It takes 20 seconds for a professional to cut one tree, for which he uses a standard
half-screw system.
The technique of his work is incredibly accurate - after all, he honed his actions over 20
years of work.
The latex then flows down the wood into a vessel, often a coconut shell.
Latex is released from the incision for 3-5 hours, and most intensively - early in the
morning.
It usually takes half a day before the container is completely filled with latex.
Then the stream dries up, and at the incision line, the latex folds naturally, thereby blocking
the woody latex channels in the place where the bark was cut.
The next day, a new incision is made on the tree.
After collection, 2/3 of the latex is occupied by water, although its consistency is quite
thick and requires processing.
What should be the interval between the incision of the bark and the collection of latex is
determined empirically.
If liquid latex is collected too late, it can harden and turn into less valuable crumb
rubber.
This material will be good for things like car tires, but will be completely useless
for mattresses.
During the low summer season, an average of 140 liters of natural latex flows into the
buckets every morning.
In the high winter season, latex is received twice as much.
In order to make one "king" size mattress, you will need to harvest the sap from 12 acres
of rubber trees.
This requires 8 workers.
When collecting latex, workers make these small cuts in the bark of about 300 trees.
As soon as they finish cutting, they return to where they started collecting latex.
They continue to collect latex from all 300 containers for the rest of the day.
Collect latex almost all year round and only on days without rain, so that the latex is
not diluted with rainwater.
Since the latex vessels are right at the surface, this process does not require cutting deep
into the wood.
Shallow cuts allow the tree to be harvested over a longer period of time.
Each strip of bark that is cut will produce latex for six years.
After six years, the opposite side of the trunk is cut open for use for another six
years, allowing the first side to heal.
This process is then repeated at a slightly different tree height.
Each rubber tree will be harvested for 24 years.
After 24 years, the trees stop producing the required amount of latex.
They are cut down, and the wood is used to make furniture or other items.
The plantations are then planted with new rubber trees, thus completing the cycle.
Obtaining quality latex can often depend on weather conditions.
In conditions where it often rains, the yield may be minimal.
Because all the juice flowing from the tree is immediately washed away by rain.
In addition, downpours destroy roads and it will not be possible to quickly deliver juice
to the factory.
Because of the rains, rivers often overflow and flood plantations.
Pickers just can't get to the rubber trees.
No less devastating effect occurs during a drought.
Drought prevents rubber trees from producing enough latex.
All liquid latex collected by the workers is immediately sent to the nearest processing
plant, where the raw materials are processed.
It is transported in special anticoagulant (coagulation is coagulation) tanks or tightly
closed containers, in which there must be a mesh for ammoniation - saturation with ammonia.
All this works to increase the life of the latex in the liquid state.
If, nevertheless, the product has curtailed, then it will be impossible to return it to
a liquid state.
In this case, it is recycled and a lower quality rubber is obtained, which is used to make
sheet latex, rubber mats, etc.
Here the decisive factor is the distance and time of delivery from the plantation to the
plant.
Most manufacturers of quality bedding try to locate their production as close as possible
to the raw material.
Factory workers place morning picking into barrels and then into cisterns.
The latex is left for 12 hours before being placed in a centrifuge for processing.
Here the rubber is separated from the water.
It will then take another 45 days for the concentrated latex to stabilize.
Using a method called the Dunlop process, the latex is turned into foam.
Thus, liquid latex is foamed and then cured in a foam extraction mold.
This method is the most energy efficient.
Every week, about 40 tons of liquid latex foam is moved from the processing plant to
the mattress factory.
It takes about 50 kg of liquid latex to make one 30 kg mattress.
The process starts by mixing deammonised liquid latex with various additives and a stabilizer.
The mixture is then stirred.
This machine carefully brings the solution to the desired density.
The composition is left to mature for 24 hours.
The Hobart Mixer whips the mixture until foamy, adding various sized bubbles to it and allowing
it to expand to the desired size.
The whipping speed is reduced and
the bubbles become more correct in size.
Thus, air is forced into the joint, resulting in an open cell structure.
It is these open structures that provide the mattress with the necessary air circulation
and guarantee a pleasant temperature in the bed.
The foam stabilizer and gelling agent are then added.
Once the latex foam is ready, the robot distributes it into a shape that has pin holes that define
the pattern of the mattress's comfort zones.
Here she is given time to thicken and harden.
The filled molds are then vulcanized, or in other words, baked.
The comfort patterns of a mattress are determined by the structure of the pin core in the mold.
Large pins make large holes in the core and the mattress becomes softer.
The adapted firmness of the different zones ensures perfect lying comfort.
After the vulcanization step, the fresh latex core is removed from the mold and rinsed thoroughly
to wash away any remaining liquid latex and any unreacted hardeners.
The remaining residue is completely removed, and the core is dried.
Each mattress core is individually tested and inspected to measure firmness, density
and visual perfection.
After that, the latex foam block is ready for use.
After a thorough quality check, the mattress is sent to an automated warehouse, where it
is packed and stored.
Shortly thereafter, it is shipped under carefully controlled conditions to customers around
the world.
Latex mattresses are certified by various independent organizations and have several
quality certifications.
These certifications give buyers and users the assurance that every latex mattress is
synonymous with exceptional comfort and safety.
That's all.
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