Category: Eco sewing

Codelite and Corozo – The Eco-friendly Buttons

Once upon a time Codelite and Corozo buttons were the norm until progress gave us polyester buttons.

It would be really easy to say polyester buttons are ‘bad’ and these are ‘good’ but I don’t think sustainability is that straight forward. For me everything produced has a cost to the environment; fabric, garments, thread, food, sewing patterns, cars, buttons. Everything leaves a mark. Everything comes with its own advantage and disadvantages. We just probably don’t need to produce any more new polyester buttons, there’s quite a few knocking around that can be re-used. 

For sustainability purposes, I personally try to put longevity of use first, and then make choices as best I can accordingly for my particular project. Plastic buttons definitely have longevity in their favour, plastic doesn’t biodegrade! To be fair to plastic buttons they do not need to end up in land fill and can and should be re-used.But I prefer something more natural if it’s available. 

You might feel ‘organic’ is more important to you. Having a smaller carbon foot print, so being locally made, might make sense for you. We’re all going to make different choices, and I think that’s OK. We are different people, with different lives, different incomes and different needs. But, I do think it’s helpful, and interesting, to have some background knowledge as that gives us the power to make informed decisions about the products we choose to have in our lives. 

So let me share with you what I know about these sustainable buttons. That is, what I know today. I like to think it’s all a journey and that I don’t know everything yet which means I might discover more tomorrow.

I can tell you that our Codelite and Corozo buttons are lovely and are a both an excellent alternative to plastic buttons. They are produced in the UK from sustainable materials, although the raw materials come from further a field.

CODELITE – made from milk!

These glorious buttons are an organic diary button made from milk waste. They naturally have a lovely pearlescent effect, or can be dyed to look like mock horn buttons, tortoiseshell buttons, or dyed a solid colour and be polished to a glossy or matt finish. You’ll have to trust me when I tell you they are very tactile!

The Codelite is made in Italy from casein which is a protein that naturally occurs in milk.

Rennet, a naturally occurring enzyme, is added to the milk and this separates into curds and whey (solids & liquids).

I assume a bit like cheese making.

An edible acid is added and it is cured into solid rods or sheets that hardens slowly at about 1mm per week.

The leftover whey is used in the food industry, so nothing is wasted. 

The Codelite is then cut, polished and finished into buttons in the UK. 

96% of the final button is milk, and yet, they are as hard wearing as polyester buttons, being very sturdy and robust.

They are also machine washable but with the advantage of being biodegradable, eco-friendly, and sustainable. 

COROZO – made from nuts!

Corozo buttons were the first sustainable buttons that we stocked and I still love them!

They are smooth and tactile, with a lovely natural grain and dye beautifully. They are very durable and scratch resistant while being sustainable and eco-friendly.

Corozo is a renewable source, non-toxic and natural, and as they are plant based they are Vegan and will eventually biodegrade.

Corozo buttons are quite interesting as they are made from the nuts of the Tagua palm tree which grows wild in the rainforests of Ecuador, Peru, Columbia and Panama.

Ecuador is the only country in the world producing and exporting the Tagua blanks used to make Corozo buttons. 

You’re worried about the rainforest now, aren’t you? Well, this is the important bit! 

The fruits of the Tagua tree each contain about 30 seeds or nuts and drop naturally when they are ripe and ready to use. It’s just a case of collecting them before being dried in the sun. There is no point picking them earlier as they are no good to use, they have to fall naturally and so no trees are harmed.

The trees continue to produce fruits for about 100 years, making it a renewable and sustainable source, so there is no need for deforestation. Collecting the seeds is done without causing any environmental impact, in fact, it helps. If the local communities can make an income from the rainforest, the rainforest will survive. The seeds fall naturally, the forest animals eat the shells and local people collect and sell the seeds to make an income, allowing them to live off what the forest produces and in return they care for and protect the forest. It helps the local economy and has helped create thousands of fairly paid jobs.

In the wise words of Sir Elton … Circle of Life.

Nothing wasted. The seeds are also known as vegetable ivory due to their appearance and is also used as a replacement for ivory in jewellery making and many handicrafts. Tagua powder is being used as a replacement for microbeads in exfoliants by the beauty industry.

So both Codelite and Corozo buttons are natural, sustainable, biodegradable and hard wearing.

I think you’ll agree, that’s quite impressive for a humble little button.