Corozo buttons

Discovered since the Bronze Age in India, it has become a leading accessory that fast gained popularity.

The ecology and purpose of humankind to save resources has been reflected even in the making of buttons in recent decades, and is therefore increasingly made of natural materials such as wood, cork, mother-of-pearl, horn, ivory, corrozion and more. So-called “corrozo”, unknown to many people, is a natural and inexpensive product that is processed and colored

easy, for sure you also had corrozo buttons, because they are some of the most common nowadays. Corrozo buttons and their meaning comes from a tropical palm tree of the genus Phytelephas, also called “tagua” or “corrozus”. It thrives in the rainforests of South America. There are a few kernels in its fruit with a brown appearance and a pretty solid white core. It is also called “ivory plant” because it resembles bone due to yellowing due to the sun’s rays that heat it. The similarity is much appreciated by people. Local craftsmen produce great small sculptors that are very popular to the tourists. The first imports to Ecuador, becomes one of the popular products among the buttons and then in 1920, more than 20% of the buttons in the US were corozo buttons.

Despite the raw material, it was about to disappear, at the onset of plastic after the end of World War II. However, it is recovering at a rapid pace due to the environmental trend, as well as the mass production of ivory plant buttons. The raw material of corroso is inexhaustible, and it is not necessary to cut down trees to harvest it, but to harvest the fruits that are on the ground. The substance of the fruit is used for animal feed, and the seeds are taken for button factories and artists studios. The productivity of this raw material is high because the fruit falls on its own and the seeds in it are fully ripe and suitable for processing.