Kuala Lampur, Dec. 11 -- The material that built the modern world is in crisis. The path to saving it lies not in nostalgia, but in a radical reinvention of its very foundations. If you're reading this, you are almost certainly within arm's reach of something made from natural rubber. From the tires on your car to the gloves in a hospital, this remarkable substance is a pillar of our industrial economy.

Yet, the industry that produces it is quietly crumbling, trapped in a cycle of ecological concerns and human hardship. A rescue mission is urgently needed - but it must be as complex and interconnected as the rubber supply chain itself.

For decades, the natural rubber economy has been sustained by millions of smallholder farmers, primari...