Yokohama Rubber has joined ITOCHU’s PROJECT TREE initiative and will supply tires made with traceable natural rubber for FamilyMart’s commercial vehicles.
The Yokohama Rubber Co. has joined PROJECT TREE, an initiative launched by ITOCHU Corporation to improve sustainability and traceability across the natural rubber supply chain. The company has begun procuring natural rubber through the project framework and will use it in tires supplied for FamilyMart’s commercial vehicles.
PROJECT TREE is designed to improve transparency in the natural rubber supply chain through a blockchain-based traceability system. The approach enables greater visibility into the sourcing of natural rubber and is intended to support more sustainable procurement practices across the tire industry.
Natural rubber is an important raw material for tire manufacturing, with approximately 70% of global natural rubber consumption used in tires. Much of the world’s natural rubber is produced by smallholder farmers, particularly in countries such as Thailand and Indonesia.
Through PROJECT TREE, Yokohama Rubber is strengthening its efforts to improve supply-chain transparency while supporting initiatives related to natural rubber producers. The company’s participation complements its existing sustainable natural rubber procurement policies and broader work with industry organisations.
The project-supported tires are being supplied for FamilyMart commercial vehicles. According to ITOCHU, the initiative connects tire procurement with sustainability efforts across the wider supply chain, including support for smallholder farmers.
FamilyMart operates a large delivery network in Japan, and the project is intended to demonstrate how sustainably sourced natural rubber can be incorporated into commercial tire applications. Japanese reporting indicates that the tires will be fitted to approximately 3,000 FamilyMart delivery vehicles over three years.
The development also comes ahead of the European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) requirements scheduled to apply to natural rubber and related products from December 30, 2026. The regulation will require companies placing covered products on the EU market to conduct due diligence concerning deforestation risks.
Yokohama Rubber has been working on sustainable natural rubber procurement for several years. The company is a founding member of the Global Platform for Sustainable Natural Rubber (GPSNR) and revised its Sustainable Natural Rubber Procurement Policy in 2021.
The company is also involved in research aimed at improving the sustainability and stability of natural rubber production. Its activities include research into rubber-tree diseases, support for sustainable agricultural practices and investigation of potential applications for rubber seeds.
For the tire industry, PROJECT TREE highlights the increasing role of traceability technologies in raw-material procurement. Greater visibility across the natural rubber supply chain can help manufacturers track sourcing information while supporting sustainability initiatives involving producers and other supply-chain participants.
Yokohama Rubber’s participation therefore adds another application for traceable natural rubber, linking sustainable material sourcing with commercial tire supply for vehicle fleets in Japan.