Yulex natural rubber is made from guayule plant by Yulex Corporation and it is FSC® certified. It is produced by Hevea trees that absorb carbon throughout their life span. In 2012, Patagonia use Yulex material to make wetsuit for the first time.
Yulex is a good alternative neoprene for surfing wetsuit, but it is not so good for diving wetsuit as the material isn't very pressure resistant and the pressure of water will shorten its lifespan considerably. Therefore, hope this defect can be improved soon.
What Is the Russian Dandelion?
Russian Dandelion, one of the rubber trees, it grows in Russa. Or called taraxacum kok-saghyz (or TKS). Like other dandelions, TKS plants grow quickly, can be cultivated across a wide range of environments and are potentially easy to harvest. Research on TKS has already yielded important discoveries, such as the cloning and characterization of rubber biosynthesis genes
VANCOUVER, British Columbia—Nova-BioRubber Green Technologies Inc., one of the developers of agronomic and green processing technologies for rubber-producing dandelions, has completed third-party hypoallergenicity testing of its dandelion-derived rubber successfully. Akron Rubber Development Lab has performed the testing of two biolatex samples. The results were heartening.
As potential applications, Nova-BioRubber's dandelion rubber would include medical gloves and catheters, mattresses, pillows, yoga mats, condoms, wetsuits, swim caps and balloons in future.
Nova-BioRubber is devoted to developing the Taraxacum kok-saghyz (TKS) plant for commercial use. TKS takes only four months to grow and contains up to 24 percent rubber.
Evaluation reports on TKS rubber from Akron Rubber Development Lab and the National Research Council of Canada are available on request, Nova-BioRubber said.
All in all, the Nova bio-rubber would come into our daily life soon. if it is better than Yulex as wetsuit material not only for material quality but also for commercial value. Now it is still controversial. Let us just keep attention to them. maybe it is a new innovative product again.