It's less of a chicken-and-egg problem and more of a cart-and-horse one. You fundamentally cannot promote a new solution in a market that won't respect the values you're trying to promote. Hedonism doesn't drive synthetic rubber sales, price-sensitive customers do.
Fixing poverty doesn't fix the free market. Customers will be price-sensitive no matter how rich they are because tires are a utility we don't benefit from splurging on. In other market segments, it's convenience or proprietary lock-in that separates them from positive alternatives.
The only way to "fix" it in America is to legislate the tire manufacturers into compliance. And when you do that people will kick and scream and say you've ruined their free market, so you've got to pick your poison and stand by it.
