The soaring price of condoms
episodePreviously titled “The Soaring Price of Condoms” — renamed by the publisher on Aug 5, 2026
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Why are condom prices set to increase?
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Muistatko, kun vaihdettiin markasta euro ja kaikki kelas kuuden kertotaulua?
Muistan, siitä on kyllä aikaa.
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Kuinka vanha sä luulet mun olevan?
Olisko kesären van aika? Käsittele terassi säännöllisesti Tikkurilan Valtti plus terassiöljyllä. Ja se kestää kauniina vuosikymmenestä toiseen. Tikkurila.fi
If you asked people to name a famous lost city, I suspect the list might include Machu Picchu in Peru or maybe Pompeii in Italy. But this week I've been thinking of a more recent lost civilisation, Fordlandia. After the end of the First World War, the increased demand for rubber led car manufacturer Henry Ford to a bold plan – build an outpost of his empire closer to the raw material needed for his car's tyres. He bought 13,000 square kilometres of the Amazon and set about building his American dream. Rows of houses with picket fences, a dance hall, a golf course.
What role do koala hormone implants play in population control?
But Fordlandia was built on the supposed success of the rubber plantation. And because the rubber tree is native to Brazil, that's also the home to its numerous pests. Caterpillars swarmed across two densely planted rubber trees, and the fungus they carried doomed the plantation. Today, most rubber comes from South Asia, where the South American leaf blight has, so far, been kept away. I'm Marnie Chasterton from the BBC World Service. This is Unexpected Elements.
And I'm joined as ever by a global panel of science journalists. We have Sandy Ong in Singapore. Hello, hello. Hi, Marnie. Ni hao. And journalist Lernie Joubert. You used to live in Cape Town, but Lernie, you're now our van life correspondent. Where are you this week? Marnie, I am on the wild coast on the eastern side of South Africa, near a place called Port St.
How is contraception managed for elephants?
John's. Lovely. So what we do on Unexpected Elements each week is we take a story from the news and we use that as our jump off point to discuss a world of interesting science. So given that I started the show musing about rubber production, let's hear what kicked that off.
Marine traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has collapsed as a result of the US-Israel war with Iran. Right now, it's effectively closed and the impacts are being felt worldwide.
Oil prices just impact everything from transportation into materials and plastics that we use.
Condoms could be getting a lot more expensive. The world's biggest condom maker, Carex, says it will raise its prices by up to 30% or more. Yes, this is the story that the world's largest condom manufacturer, Carex, who make five billion condoms a year, plan to raise their prices by 20, 30, possibly more percent, all due to the fact that the supply chain of raw materials continues to be disrupted by the Iran war and the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Sandy, have you heard of the condom crisis? Yeah, actually, partly because Carex, the manufacturer, is based in Malaysia, which is literally on our doorstep. Marnie, back to you. Tell me, how has a lack of oil led to this condom crisis? That is exactly what I was wondering.
What challenges are faced in developing male contraceptives?
And a lot of condoms are made of natural latex, which is produced from this tree, the Hevia brasiliensis. The oil comes in because the raw latex is treated with ammonia to preserve it. And the ammonia comes several steps down the line from the refinement of crude oil. It's not the only product that relies on oil and petrochemicals in the manufacturing process. But in unexpected fashion, we're going to focus on the most surprising, which to us was condom prices. So condom price hike and possible shortage, there is our starting point. Lani, where do you want to take us from here? Well, Marnie, it seems there's been a bit of a boom or bust situation down under in Koalaville. Koalas have been in the news quite a lot of late, mostly because their numbers are dropping.
According to the IUCN listing, they are regarded as vulnerable. But in 2022, Australian law recognised them as endangered. But there are some refuges where koalas are doing so well that conservationists have had to turn to prophylactics.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Why are condom prices set to increase?
0:00–1:30
2
What role do koala hormone implants play in population control?
1:30–2:41
3
How is contraception managed for elephants?
2:41–4:08
4
What challenges are faced in developing male contraceptives?
4:08–5:30
5
How have Chinese researchers succeeded in breeding eels?
5:30–6:48
6
What is the connection between microplastics and condom production?
6:48–8:02
7
How does the moon's gravity affect our weight?
8:02–9:25
8
What are the unexpected elements discussed in this episode?
9:25–52:12