For Tessie, I knew I didn’t want plastic buttons and after a little researching, BAM, I found out about Corozo.
There are other sustainable button choices like shell buttons, coconut buttons, fabric buttons, horn buttons, wooden buttons but Corozo is my favourite.
Here’s why…
* I mean, Tessie only launched in October 2021, so I either had a lot of fore planing OR it’s more down to the fact that the tagua tree takes about 15 years to grow before it bears Corozo nuts so these Tessie buttons have been a long time in the making.
The tagua palm tree grows for around 15 years and then starts producing the nuts.
These then go through a process of drying where they lie in the sun for around 3 months.
After that, the nuts are passed onto the end manufacturer, whether it's a button maker, jewellery designer or chess piece creator. (Corozo is very versatile!)
SUSTAINABILITY
Corozo is one of the most sustainable, raw materials used in button production.
It’s also known as vegetal ivory due to it’s high durability and is also biodegradable. Corozo also looks very similar to real ivory however no elephants are harmed in the production of Corozo buttons.
RENEWABLE RESOURCE
Corozo or tagua nuts are the produce from the tagua tree, grown in South America. The palm tree produces around 1800 nuts a year so yields more than enough for thousands of Corozo buttons to be made.
Being a renewable resource, no trees are cut down, which helps the rainforest flourish. The nuts ‘fall’ from the trees naturally when ripe so there is no human harvesting meaning the tree will continue to grow and produce nuts for many, many years.
PROTECTING THE RAINFOREST & COMMUNITIES
According to the Commercial branch of the Foreign Relations Ministry, the Tagua industry supports 30,000 families in Ecuador. Most importantly, it can generate up to five times the income of animal farming, which requires deforestation, so will help sustain the rainforest in all it’s natural beauty. This shows that money can grow on trees…kind of!
Our Tessie branded buttons are used on our Confetti Henley Tops and the Poppy Dog Print Shirt as part of the Poppy Dog Print Set.
