Recently I was looking for some shaving cream. Tom’s of Maine. Mint. Great stuff. All natural. Very cheap per shave. Lasts a long time. A bit hard to find. I looked around and found some at one web site (shipping too high) then I remembered, Amazon is selling stuff like that now. As I scrolled through all the shaving paraphernalia, I came upon various fake ivory shaving brushes. I’ve owned one myself for years. They last a long time.*

Then I came upon the Grooming Lounge Ivory Shave Brush. Do they mean real ivory? I doubt it. I hope not. At $70, probably not. (These brushes range from $12-150 and $70 is high average for any type of handle.) Most of the other white handled brushes say imitation ivory in one form or another. This one just said ivory. Why?

Habit? History? Marketing technique? More precise color description? Stupidity? Why do companies, even small ones that make shaving brushes, still use this term? It is probably some of all these things. But it opened up an idea that we all need to think more about.

When you develop or sell a product with a tradition, is it really necessary to reinforce the acceptance of something that is very bad in any aspect of the naming or branding of the product? Do electric car companies say “Just as powerful as gas guzzling cars.” No. Most companies avoid it. Piano companies, once a major user of ivory, stopped using the material decades ago. Now all pianos, or at least the majority, that are made today, do not use ivory and don’t push the term ivory as a selling point of the product.

A quick look at Steinway and Sons top concert and music room pianos shows the keys are made of Spruce and Linden wood. I didn’t research other piano makers but I did send off an email to Steinway and Yamaha asking about renewable energy, materials, and FSC certified wood to see where they are going with that. We’ll see if they ever respond at all...

Hopefully, it won’t be a cachet to own “ivory” or even fake ivory - a product easily reproduced with other materials, most of which are renewable, for much longer. Women wore feathers in their hats for fashion in the 19th C. and drove species to the brink and beyond. But feathers in hats seem to remain a rare and rarer fashion.

I won’t go on about how most of that cheap furniture for sale in discount stores in the U.S. are made from unsustainable logging in China and other virgin forest lands in Asia and Africa...

I’d be curious to hear of other bizarre vestiges of brand and product naming along the lines of ivory. Please post a comment.

Update:

From Yamaha

Hello,

I received your e-mail regarding a Yamaha piano from Yamaha Corporation of Japan (YCJ), which was re-routed to us, as are all such inquiries from the United States.  In order to better serve our customers, Yamaha Corporation of America (YCA) handles all inquiries and orders that originate in our market.

In answer to your questions:

"Are your pianos and other products made of wood made from renewable woods that are FSC certified?", 

No. Yamaha pianos aren't made of wood made from renewable woods that are FSC certified.

"Also, do you or do you plan on having any other renewable or green energy practices developed for your company (or specifically musical instruments)?"

As a company, Yamaha is always struggling with environmental concerns; Yamaha is well known as a good corporate citizen. For example, Yamaha Corporation of Japan held the "Woods of Yamaha", afforestation project in Indonesia.

I hope this information is helpful, but please do feel free to contact us if you need further assistance.  You can reach us at 800/854-1569, Monday thru Friday, 8:30am to 5:00pm, Pacific.

 

Best regards,

David D.
Piano Service Specialist
Yamaha Corp. of America

From Steinway & Sons

Steinway & Sons closely monitors all its wood material suppliers, bi-annually these suppliers are required to sent a letter certifying the wood materials supplied to Steinway are from a responsible and sustainable source. Most of our suppliers are either fully FSC certified, of their suppliers are FSC certified. Over the years the volume of lumber being FSC certified is growing. Steinway also promotes and supports organizations the replant trees, such as the Hardwood Forestry Fund, to which I am on the Board of Directors, and Global Releaf.

Regarding the “green” energy practices, Steinway is presently involved in a large program to reduce our energy consumption, and recycle all our air that is exhausted through or dust collection systems. We are also investigating more efficient heating systems.

Being green is a priority for Steinway & Sons.

If you require any additional information, please contact me, and I thank you for your interest.

 

Best regards,

 

Warren A. 

Director of Materials

Steinway & Sons

 

*(Yes, I know, most are made from badger hair. There is a plastic bristle version available if you want to shave vegetarian. There’s a statement I thought I would never say. I guess one could argue that wooden handles and badgers are renewable whereas plastic based brushes or the many tons of metal canned shave creams burning up energy in shipping, most are not recycled, and thus adding much more CO2 probably killing many more badgers in the long run. Plus, a good brush lasts your entire life and is typically hand made by small companies in Britain. What can I say.)