THE’ivory It is undoubtedly one of the most popular materials controversial nowadays: his excellent technical and aesthetic properties are counterbalanced by the fact that, to obtain it, it is necessary to kill elephants, hippos, sperm whales and other animals, so that we can take them teeth And fangs. Fortunately, the scientific community has been working for years now to find some valid alternatives – both natural and synthetic – that do not involve taking the life of any creature. Let’s look at the main ones.
Bone
Historically, one of the most common substitutes for ivory isbone. This material has properties similar to those of ivory, also thanks to the presence of hydroxyapatite in both, even if it usually presents small grooves filled by organic matter which reduce its clarity, lowering it consequentially the market value.
On the other hand, the bone can also be taken after the natural death of the animal, making its use more sustainable. To date, however, it would mostly be a local-scale alternative and unsuitable for large-scale distribution.
Vegetable ivory
Some plants – such as the Tagua palm that grows in South America – produce nuts that can reach the size of an apple. Their interior is made up of cellulose whitish in color which, at first glance, is very reminiscent of ivory. For this reason, walnut can be used as a substitute for the precious white gold and its appearance is vaguely similar to that of hippopotamus ivory.
Plastic
Although it may be a stretch, we can also include plastic as an alternative. Of course, the two materials often have similar properties only from an aesthetic point of view, but for some purposes it is fine like this. Starting in the nineteenth century, different types of plastic have been created to imitate ivory. Let’s say that an expert is able to immediately notice the difference because, although it may have a similar appearance, it may have air bubbles or signs of joints between the various parts, in addition to having different technical properties.
Synthetic ivory
There are those in the scientific community who are looking for a way to artificially recreate ivory, so that this material can be used without harming the health of animals. This is the case of Thaddäa Rath and his team at the University of Vienna. Their research focuses on the use of 3D resin printers to create three-dimensional replicas of ivory objects. The final material, called “Digory,” is composed of a mix of resin and calcium phosphates, and has the same physical and aesthetic properties as the original, thus becoming a sustainable alternative to ivory.
