Treating rubber cord

A couple of new designs would look great on rubber cord. I’ve never
worked with it before so I ordered a coil of 3mm cord from a jewelry
supplier and fabricated nice end caps. But I can’t bring myself to
finish it because I can’t get rid of that lovely “Goodyear” smell.
Is there any way to treat the rubber so it doesn’t smell like tires
(I’ve let it air for 2 weeks)? Or did I buy the wrong material?

Many thanks!
Syd