Buttons add functionality and style to every garment. Our vegetable ivory buttons do that while serving as a sustainable alternative to plastic buttons.
Each button is carved from tagua, a nut known for its resemblance to ivory both in look and feel. The nuts are produced by a type of palm tree native to rainforests in Central and South America and have long been used as an animal friendly substitute for ivory.
We offer two types of vegetable ivory buttons: Solid white and spotted. (The spotting is due to natural color variations found in the raw tagua material.) But if you fancy a different color, vegetable ivory is still a great choice. The tagua nut material is full of microscopic pores and will easily soak up dye.
Our buttons come in a pack of four and vary slightly in shape and size. In general, each one is about the size of a quarter.
Vegetable ivory’s good looks and durability made it a popular button material before plastics. Today, these buttons serve as a unique, environmentally friendly, and eye-catching choice!
Our buttons are made in a tagua workshop in Ecuador that primarily employs young women, allowing them to earn money while staying in school or supporting their families.