A Rainforest, Palm Trees and Blanks that Make for Buttons

Corozo is not only the best sustainable alternative accessory for the fashion and clothing industry in terms of design and durability, but also has a beneficial environmental and social component. By replacing plastic with corozo buttons, brands contribute to keeping tropical forests standing, reducing the carbon footprint, curbing global warming; besides, as a durable and resistant material, it contributes to circularity too.

By using corozo buttons, fashion brands also allow thousands of native inhabitants to make a living from collecting corozo nuts without destroying the forests as also protecting their source of income. The corozo represents an important source of income for hundreds of artisans who skilfully transform the nuts into blanks one by one, handmade, and in pure tradition.

Depending on the demand, Ecuador exports between 700 and 1,200 tonnes of corozo blanks per year. These quantities are equivalent to a range between 500 and 900 million buttons. In 2011, the demand for the corozo skyrocketed, with 2,000 tonnes (about 1.5 billion blanks) exported. The goal is for demand to return to these levels because it helps people not to cut down the forests where corozo grows wild, since they can live on what the forest offers them.

Ecuador exports only blanks to corozo button manufacturers around the world.  And one company that takes the lead in exporting this vegetal ivory is the Manta-based Trafino SA, founded by Francisco Luna, an entrepreneur with a deep social and environmental vision. Currently serving 80% of the world market, it claims to have emerged a leader in the export of corozo blanks within five years. Around 700 artisans work with Trafino, a significant percentage being women.

“We started exporting from day one and the year was 1988. We are currently carrying out a census of collectors, but we estimate that there are around 5,000 families that sustainably collect the seed in the forests,” Ignacio Maya, the Executive President at Trafino SA, tells texfash.com.

Trafino acquires the blanks from around 90 independently-run artisan factories. The artisans, in turn, acquire the raw material (corozo nuts) from the collectors. It supports the collectors with training so that they can collect good quality tagua seeds and properly care for and manage the tagua palms and the forest itself. Artisans are also trained how to handle simple machinery to turn the seed into tagua blanks.

With support from the United Nations Small Grants Programme, Ecuadorian government institutions, Trafino with its NGO, Forever Lung, the Matapalo and Ceprocafe communities now have machinery and infrastructure to add value to sustainably collected corozo nuts, improving living standards and strengthening their commitment to protecting the forests. The goal is to provide the more than 100 communities that collect corozo nuts with this infrastructure and machinery.

The company exports to China, India, Japan and Korea in Asia, and all over Europe. Some brands that use the corozo from Trafino include Ted Baker, Polo, Calvin Klein, Hugo Boss, Abercrombie & Fitch, Perry Ellis, Burberry, J. Crew, Reiss, Banana Republic, Tommy Hilfiger, Raymond, Zodiac, Blackberrys, Timberland, Massimo Dutti, Mango, Marc Jacobs, Max Mara, Pierre Cardin, Brooks Brothers, Scotch & Soda, Georgio Armani, Gant, Quick Silver, COS (H&M), Arket (H&M). “Lately, brands from India like Anita Dongre, Manish Malhotra, Abraham & Thakore, and others have also started sourcing from us,” Ignacio informs, adding that it has a partner in New Delhi who makes corozo buttons.

Trafino can export several 20ft containers of corozo blanks per month. “We can accommodate a greater demand. It is only a matter of organising our chain. We estimate that at least 6,000 families, that is about 25,000 to 30,000 people depend on the corozo value chain in Ecuador.”
 

Trafino claims to abide by social and environmental responsibility. “Our product is guaranteed, our shipments are always made within the time offered because we understand that button manufacturers and clothing brands have commitments and contracts to fulfill. Trafino provides the confidence that the distribution chain needs to offer the market the best product in a timely manner”, says Ignacio.

In Ecuador, he informs, there is a legal minimum wage of $425/month plus social benefits, and Trafino workers earn more than the minimum wage.

It is working with the United Nations Small Grants Program, Germany development agency GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit ), the IRD (French Institute of Research for Development), other government institutions and NGOs to strengthen and support corozo collecting communities, protect forests and take care of corozo palm trees. Trafino is also a member of the Hot Palm project. 

Trafino and Forever Lung have also launched a project to restore the buffer zones of tropical forests using native corozo palms and thus help the forest to recover and regain space. “The project with the GIZ is to establish a nursery with 5,000 native tagua palms so that the communities can use them to restore forest areas that have been deforested”.

The Founder, Francisco Luna, has transferred the shares of his company to the workers. At present, Trafino’s corporate capital is in the hands of each and every worker. This means that all Trafino employees are shareholders of the company. Francisco transferred the shares to the workers because his social philosophy dictates that companies should belong to those who work for them.

Elaborating on this, Francisco had said in a manifesto titled ‘The Limitation of Capital and the Democratisation of Production Assets’:

“I propose, therefore, to change the system so that, without eliminating the incentive of a fair return on capital investment, it limits the unlimited profits that are available today, making them more equitably distributed. Hence my proposal for a "democratisation of the means of production", consisting of a redistribution of the assets of companies. We are not talking about maintaining the system by improving the income of the workers, no. We are talking about allowing workers to become owners of the means of production in which they work. As you can see, I am not proposing to eliminate capitalism because we cannot eliminate human ambition, which is also a stimulus for progress; but I propose to limit its infinite and unlimited power.”