Tribal Societé Buttons offers designers a naturally superior alternative to plastic.

 

About tagua:

A.K.A Vegetable Ivory: Tagua is a nut that is harvested from palm trees of Ecuador. Its density is so fine, its color so rich and its texture is so naturally brilliant that ‘tagua¹ of Ecuador has been termed ’Vegetable Ivory¹.

 

Tagua was once used widespread in garment industry: Prior to 1920¹s Ecuador¹s largest export was tagua for the use of buttons sold on US garments. When plastic was introduced as a less expensive alternative, plastic replaced ‘tagua buttons¹ and slowly, Tagua became less and less en vogue. Today you may find vintage pieces with tagua buttons, but the overwhelming majority of fashion houses incorporate plastic buttons into textile production.

 

Green generation to bring tagua back to fashion mainstream: Plastic may have been the designers choice in the 1920¹s when increasing production efficiencies were the wave of the future, but as everyone in fashion that has a grandmother knows, we always seem to turn full-circle. Designers in 2009 and designers for the foreseeable future are feeling pressure to ’go-green¹; become more eco-conscious and globally considerate.

Incorporating tagua buttons into manufacturing allows designers to respond to consumer demands quickly and affordably, while demonstrating significant regard for the global environment which we all live in. Oh and did we mention, tagua (a.k.a. vegetable ivory) is far superior!

 

Production and ‘waste’: After tagua nuts fall from trees, they are gathered and set to dry. Then the nut is peeled and sliced and carved yet again to create buttons. The process is mostly handmade and entirely organic until the dyeing process (if color is added). Excess shavings of tagua are fed to cows. Effectively the process creates ZERO waste. Tagua is a nutrient rich nut that does wonders for encouraging some absolutely delicious milk. How is that for utterly organic! Making tagua buttons do not contribute to waste in any way. We feel great about that and hope you do too.

 

Disclaimer on adding color to buttons: The only non-absolutely organic process employed lies in dyeing of buttons. We use the same dye that is used in dying other fashion textiles.

 

Why plastic buttons are (and should be) falling out of favor:

Breakable, lackluster and non-dry cleaner friendly: There is nothing more disconcerting than having paid a premium for something designer only to realize that the buttons break, chip and all together bring down the quality of your clothes. Plastic buttons break frequently, lack superior natural finish and well, are ultimately plastic.

 

Environmental Damage: Plastic has a dirty little secret. Yes, it is slightly less expensive (and looks it) but did you also know that plastic is one of the major toxic pollutants of our generation. Plastic consists of toxic chemicals that are entirely non-biodegradable. You may think that recycling plastic means you are contributing to ridding hazards of plastic, but the truth is, the only way to eliminate the hazards of plastic is to find alternatives that are naturally superior. Ultimately, we can’t all walk around with shirts unbuttoned! But we can use naturally superior alternatives to plastic buttons- ie, tagua buttons!

 

Harm to animals: If you were to read an ingredients list for plastic it would go something like this: benzene and vinyl chloride and a bunch of gases and liquid hydrocarbons (ie, cancer agents and agent that ruin the quality of air all animals breathe). How plastic is produced would read something like this: Production of plastic emits synthetic chemicals like ethylene oxide, benzene and xylenes. Ie, toxic gases! We like our tagua button story better… harvesting nuts and feeding cows the shavings. Much…much better!