Import Export: Abalone Button

Sunday 20 January 2013

Abalone Button

Today, most buttons found on clothing purchased in retail stores are the product of high tech factories.Metal and plastic buttons are created through an injection molding process.Not too long ago, however, buttons were crafted through a multi-step, labor intensive process that was truly global.Because of Milton Delaware’s proximity to the Atlantic coast, it might be assumed the shells used in button making were of local origin. However, the abalone shells employed in cutting mother-of-pearl buttons hailed from the Pacific Rim countries like Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, and Japan.
Shipped to New York as ballast, they arrived in large mahogany crates, the origin stenciled in large black letters on the side of each box, “PRODUCT OF AUSTRALIA.”