Water scarcity footprint of products from cooperative and large rubber sheet factories in southern Thailand

•For rubber sheet products most consumptive water use occurred in plantations.•Consumptive water uses of RSS and RSSB were 549 and 592 m3/tonne, respectively.•The water scarcity footprint of RSS ranged from 0.12 to 72.8 m3 H2O eq/tonne.•The water scarcity footprint of RSSB ranged from 5.12 to 52.4 m3 H2O eq/tonne.

The water scarcity footprints (WSF) of ribbed smoked sheet (RSS) from 14 cooperative rubber sheet factories (CRSF) in nine provinces in southern Thailand were evaluated. The WSF of ribbed smoked sheet bales (RSSB) was determined in two large rubber sheet factories (LRSF) in two provinces. Average values of consumptive water use (CWU) for RSS and RSSB were 549 and 592 m3/tonne, respectively. The CWU for both CRSF and LRSF was found to be very small in comparison to that for producing inputs from the rubber plantation. The CWU used for producing RSS arose from acquisition of fresh latex. Acquisition of unsmoked sheet and RSS had a major contribution for the RSSB production. WSFs of RSS and RSSB in terms of water deprivation ranged from 0.12 to 72.8 and 5.12 to 52.4 m3 water-equivalent/tonne, respectively. The major difference of CWU in the rubber plantations caused the difference of WSF for RSS and RSSB. The results of this study revealed that the policy makers should focus on the rubber plantation as the first priority. CWU and WSF values should be included as indicators for determining suitable areas of rubber plantation and for getting government support. In the factories, technologies or processes that used less water must be employed in the washing process to reduce CWU.