How a genetically-edited dandelion could stop you getting pregnant

Alice Giddings

Published January 30, 2026 11:26am Updated January 30, 2026 11:26am

The humble garden weed that could soon be used to make your condoms Getty Images — Dandelions could be used to make condoms (Picture: CSA Images)

At a glance, it’s easy to dismiss the humble dandelion as a stubborn lawn weed.

If you dig deeper, though, you’ll see that it’s vastly underrated. From medicinal properties used in traditional remedies to its folklore roots, where its said the flower can grant our wishes and greatest desires.

But magic aside, the dandelion could now have a new purpose: contraception.

British businessman, Neil Clelland, is attempting to genetically modify this weed, that already contains latex (or rubber), which could then be used to make condoms.

With roughly 186 million condoms make in the UK in 2024 alone, we use an estimated 588 million in the UK each year, according to the United Kingdom’s Condom Market Forecast. Basically, we use a lot of rubber.

Currently almost all the rubber in the world is produced in southeast Asia and west Africa, where its harvested from a tree known as Hevea brasiliensis or Rubber Tree.

The milky white sap it produces is latex, which pours from the tree when its bark is removed, but harvesting from this species alone isn’t sustainable.

rubber tree. — Latex running into a pot from a Rubber Tree (Picture: Getty Images)

In fact, while 14 million tonnes of rubber are produced each year, there’s a demand for 15 million tonnes, meaning we need to find an extra one million tonnes of latex.

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Along with climate change threatening this particular species, there’s supply chain pressure and geopolitical factors, which has left people like Neil scrambling around for alternatives so rubber production doesn’t decline.

This is where dandelions come in…

The weeds have the same milky white substance which you’ve likely encountered if you’ve ever plucked one from the ground.

The weed was actually considered for harvesting rubber in WWII, but they’re so small that the amount of latex from each flower is pretty miniscule, so officials didn’t bother.

However, Neil’s lightbulb moment could change that. As chief business officer of a UK biotech company, QuberTech, he wants to edit the plant’s genes so it has bigger roots, a reduced growing cycle, and larger yield.

A process like this could mean the weeds then produce enough rubber to make harvesting them commercially viable.

This is called gene-editing, where you simply go into the plant’s dna and turn certain genes off and on to get the result you desire. This is different from genetic modification where you mix genes from other species to create a new version of that plant.

dandelion — Dandelions could be here to save the day (Picture: Getty Images)

How are condoms made?

All condom manufacturing starts in pretty much the same way, according to Durex. To give latex stability and strength, chemicals are added to it, and it’s heated (prevulcanised).

Heating it means the chemicals react with the rubber in the latex to make it stronger, more reliable and give it low allergenic potential.

Then the latex is transferred into temperature-controlled storage tanks, where a continuous line of clean glass formers are dipped into the latex, where they become coated.

These formers (moulds) are rotated to spread the latex evenly, then they’re left to dry before being dipped for a second time.

The formers then pass through an oven which completes the chemical reactions and ensures the latex condoms have the necessary strength and elasticity. Then they’re removed from the moulds, washed and powdered, before being stored for two days and then being checked for imperfections.

Condoms in Variety of Colors — Condoms are creating through chemical processes with rubber (Picture: Getty Images)

At Durex there’s two extra tests that are done, too:

Water leak testing — A sample of over 2,000,000 condoms per month are filled with water and suspended for a minute to check for leaks

Air inflation test — A sample of about 500,000 condoms per month are given an air inflation test to check for burst-strength and elasticity (International latex standard: 18 liters. Durex minimum latex standard: 22 liters. Typically Durex condoms will expand to 40 liters)

If the condoms fail on any of the tests, the entire batch — which can be up to 432,000 condoms — is discarded.

Those that pass the test are then ready to be pinch and rolled onto your member for a good pregnancy-free time.

This £2.5 million venture, largely financed by the government’s Farming Futures Research and Development Fund, is hoped to be in production within the next year to year-and-a-half, and if all goes to plan, Neil wants to have a two-hectare site that produces 3,000 tonnes of rubber.

He wants this all to happen by 2029, and if it does, Britain will be the first country to produce rubber for condoms, and other items, from gene-edited dandelions.

‘We are really targeting entry markets [that are] higher value, lower volume, like medical, footwear and fashion,’ Neil told The Times. ‘Out-soles for sneakers, tops for injectables and seals for the little vials that drugs come in, latex gloves, condoms, adhesives for plasters.’