All over the world, different tropical tree species are used as a source for rubber: Hevea spp . is the most common one, but there also Castilla spp . and Manihot spp. in Tropical America, Funtumia elastica and Landolphia spp. , in Africa, Ficus elastica in Asia.

The Chicle tree is quite different from otherwise similar rubber trees. Only a few plant species synthesize polyisoprenes in what is called ‘trans' configuration. Chicle, gutta-percha ( Pallaquium gutta ), and balata ( Manilkara bidentata ) are typical representatives of trans-polyisoprene-synthesizing plants. Among them, the chicle tree is unique, because of its unparalleled mix of polyisoprenes that render a non-toxic, hydrophilic, non-vulcanisable substance.

This characteristic is exactly what triggered the re-discovery of chicle by Thomas Adams in 1866. Exiled in the U.S.A., the former Mexican dictator Santa Ana tried to go into business with Mr. Adams using latex extracted from Mexican Chicozapote trees. Their intention was to vulcanize it and to use it in carriage wheels. Two tons were brought to New York for experimentation. Turning it into rubber proved impossible. Soon enough, Mr. Adams was stuck with 2,000 kilos of seemingly useless chicle latex. But, he remembered that Santa Ana had said people in México used to chew this gum. According to this widespread story, this is how Adams came up with the idea of sweetening and flavouring the chicle to make chewing gum pretty much as we know it.

Currently, most mass-produced chewing gums use artificial, petrol-based polymers as substitutes for natural chicle. Even those few, very fine chewing gums that still have natural chicle use only small amounts of it and combine it with synthetic gums. That is why chewing gum is such an environmental and sanitary threat to cities all over the world: the polymers in gum bind very successfully with asphalt.

Chicza has nothing but natural, organic gum base, and therefore has all the virtuous features of this innocuous, hydrosoluble, non-sticky, biodegradable source. Easily decomposed by weathering, combined with bacterial and enzymatic biodegradation, it turns to dust and goes back to the soil, just like rotting wood, fallen leaves and other organic material.