Every item that goes into our products is carefully selected with a view to helping the planet, although without ever compromising the quality of any part of the finished product. For instance, we believe in using sustainable labels and we only use buttons made of corozo that are manufactured in Germany and dyed with vegetable dyes.

Our woven labels are made of 60% organic cotton and 40% recycled polyester. As we want them to still look good in 10 to 20 years’ time, we are currently unable to offer labels made entirely of organic cotton, because otherwise they would tend to fray at the edges. But we are working on a better solution.

Corozo has been used for making buttons since the early 20th century but from the 1920s was gradually displaced by plastic. Today, with renewable and eco-friendly resources firmly in focus, corozo − also known as “vegetable ivory” on account of its appearance − is making a comeback. The material is obtained from tagua nuts. Originally soft, the nuts are harvested and sun-dried until they are as hard as bone.

The lovely, intense colours, the ivory look, the fabulous feel, and the durability of corozo persuaded us at buttertea that this is the right material for our buttons. Our corozo buttons are dyed with vegetable dyes and are also compostable.