The integrity of these fellow Etsy sellers is to be commended

Kudos to Etsy. Thanks for offering different viewpoints on this. I did look into this further and there's much less deep coral (endangered)used in jewelry now vis a vis shallow water coral. To boot, with shallow water coral (and fast growing), there's been a concerted effort to move to farm-raised. This is an offshoot of coral farms for aquariums, the largest problem for decimation of shallow water coral. I did look into this a little further and posted a very well written link with more resource links within that article.

Thank you for addressing this information.

It took to much time for Etsy to react on the previous blog post about coral. I still think that post should had never been published.

Nicely done, ladies!

It is nice that this was **finally** addressed, however, it would have been much more professional to have had this published either at the same time as the original, or within a day of the original, in order to minimize the damage that has already been done.

being informed is the first step to acting responsibly.

THANKS

wonderful letter! Yes, I agree as a seller we must always know where our materials come from. I use a lot of metal and I'm passionate about the make-up of each chain, rod, sheet, etc... Thanks for the reminder. xo

Nicely done ! Thanks so much !

Thank you Jennifer (LeeOhio) for taking the time to post this!!!! VERY much appreciated!

Thank you for sharing. It's nice to know all the facts.

Thanks so much for this post! It's wonderful how passionate Etsy sellers are about conservation and the integrity of their shops. I'm happy to learn that I can buy coral jewelry as long as I make sure it's from a good source first. Awesome!

While it was important for the original piece to be rebutted, it is even more important that etsy not use it's social media in such a fashion that threatens the sales of their clients, from whom they have taken money in good faith. I truly hope that in the future "neutrality" is the watchword within the auspices of The Storque, as well as etsy's Facebook and Twitter account. Thanks to DesignedbyLucinda and LeeOhio and every other member who took the time to discuss coralgate. It was an unhappy event in the site's history and I applaud the courage of those who took the time to point out the many troubling issues Ms.St Clairs' piece raised.

Thank you for addressing this issue!

I will do my best to keep coral alive too :)

Well said! Thanks.

Very well researched and rational responses to the myopic Temple St. Claire blog. Kudos.

like fur, don't wear coral jewelry if you find it morally objectionable.

Its a really interesting point though not just about coral, where all of our items come from and being interested in where your raw materials come from!

Very cool info. someone has to keep us informed:)) Thank you.

I use only vintage coral sourced over the years. Good info.

Kudos to Cindy and Jennifer and everyone else who cared enough to keep this issue alive. I'm happy to see these letters published at last.

A reminder: Etsy warrants that all shops as well as the site itself complies with the applicable ToU. It's up to each member to call public attention to violations of those ToU, regardless of who has transgressed. Kudos to all who kept this issue alive.

important topic, good work.

I feel I understand the situation much better now, having heard both sides of the debate :)

Yes, I was also not entirely impressed by the original article and am glad these two sellers have responded, echoing the issues I found troubling. I use coral in my work on occasion. All my coral has come from antique sources and finds.

Very well written ladies. As I have pieces containing small amounts of coral(legal and not endangered) I was consumed by how the origional post made every user of coral guilty.

jennifer and cindy rock!

thank you for addressing this issue.

finally

Both points of view are needed. Wish both could have come closer together. I remember the other blog and it was basically saying not use coral at all.

Wow, this was a hot topic for a while. Nice to see this posted.

Thanks!

Glad DBL and LeeO got these published here. Nice job by both! Goes some way toward educating buyers and sellers. I want to be very happy about it. Unfortunately, it's too little too late. The original is still up without being linked to this response (while this links to the original post), and it still calls for a boycott of coral sellers. The original was a referred to as an article, giving it the weight of "fact" and filed under Activism, while these responses are called "Letter to the Editor", giving them the lesser weight of "viewpoint". I am glad that all Cindy's work was not in vain, though it seems to be much shorter and without any links, but it has been four weeks almost to the day. Sorry, this falls a little short.

I am glad this was finally addressed and I appreciate the effort by these etsy members. However, I agree with betweenpietyandesire-- it should have at the least been given equal treatment as the original article. In the future, more scrutiny should be given to any potential articles that take such a strong viewpoint opposing the work of other artists and sellers.

So glad to hear the whole story and not just bits and pieces. Thank you for sharing and thank you Etsy for allowing all the facts in this additional article regarding coral.

Great to see this!!

thank you Cindy and Jennifer for all your hard work, research, and perseverance with etsy to remind etsy that they should honor the sellers...because if we don't list, their company disappears. Etsy should label the original post that jewelry designer Temple St.Clair wrote as an advertisement for Temple St.Clair.

Thanks guys. What a kerfuffel.

Though not a jewelry maker, and a collector of strictly vintage jewelry, I was disheartened and embarrassed by Etsy's first, one-sided, self-promoting Storque article by the partially-informed Ms St Clair. It was such a shame to call out so many Etsy sellers who are all doing ethical jewelry. Kudos to DesignedbyLucinda and Lee Ohio Designs for persevering in the face of Etsy's closure and consolidation. And all the other sellers who kept the fires alive, and in memoriam to those who found Coralgate to be the last straw and left Etsy, voluntarily or not. Thank you Etsy for this late response, but, really, you would have looked so much better to have done it sooner. I hope to see a link to this article attached to the original Storque article.

Finally!!! Thanks so much for posting this. It is such a shame that the damage to the shops and sellers of completely sustainable, legit coral is already done. I wish there was something which could have been done to avoid that catastrophe. But, this is a beginning!

Thanks for providing these alternate viewpoints - I now feel slightly less guilty about using up the existing (shallow dyed sponge coral) that I already have on hand!

Excellent responses, I applaud you both - I'm also happy to see that Etsy (quite rightly) gave these sellers the opportunity to put valid and sensible points across to the community. It was starting to feel rather like another selling venue where the sellers have no voice...........

I think the original blog was fair, and not one sided. I recently saw a beautiful pair of coral earrings, but when I went through the link and found the seller didn't explain where the got the coral, or if it was fake, I was immediately no longer interested. I think this is a really important issue, in part because even when coral is not being harvested, climate change it bleaching it. This is a dwindling resource, and I think we should take care not to use wild coral in our jewelry. This makes it incredibly important for sellers - whether they agree or not that coral should be sustainably harvested (or fake) - to tell potential buyers precisely where they get their coral from. I can't imagine I'm the only buyer (and shop) that would not buy (or use) wild coral but would love to add vintage coral jewelry to my collection.

Ah yes, coralgate. A token at best, but a token just the same. Thank you to Cindy and Jennifer for taking the time to 'speak' out about the misinformation provided by the original article. You are to be commended for your dedication.

Glad to see Etsy was willing to publish this even if they weren't willing to remove the earlier offending/TOU violating piece. Thank you to Cindy and Jennifer too.

I add my thanks to Cindy and Jennifer for providing a more accurate account of the coral that we, as jewelry makers on Etsy, choose to include in our designs... and to let our buyers know that we care about our environment and would never knowlingly squander its resources! I would hope that in the future, some type of research is done before allowing inaccurate or incomplete information to be published that can cause potential harm to the reputation of an entire group in our handmade community, as this has done.

One of the reasons I deal in "vintage" is because it doesn't cause any more harm to the planet. No fear of blood diamonds in an old stone, peace DevineCollectilbe

Thanks for this articule!

Great job Lucinda and Jennifer! Too bad much of what you originally wrote was edited out as it explained better about the coral that is usually used by a jewelry designer. Also the original version Lucinda wrote talked about the main "killers" of the Great barrier reef, which would be global warming, pollution from all the ocean dumping from factories, and a small portion to aquarium enthusiasts. I highly doubt you will find any coral from the great reef on etsy, other than vintage pieces. It's illegal in the US, very very pricey, and found on the black market. Asking people to boycott an item before fully educating them with all sides, is very irresponsible.

Yes finally. I don't get why the original Storque article wasn't properly checked by an editor in the first place. The damage done to coral sellers' reputations for 4 weeks is not magically retroactively removed by this belated offering. (Over 14,300 posts in one thread alone led to this being taken seriously.)

I also feel that the storque is really not a good place for guest speakers, who have no affilaition with etsy, to promote their non handmade products or use causes to promote their products. The storque's purpose is to inform, entertain, bring the community at etsy together, and teach.

Thank you Jen from Lee Ohio for raising these extremely well-researched points and for enlightening the debate on the great coral question. Hugely appreciated. ~Emily~

Thank you Cindy and Jennifer for your well thought out responses to the coral Storque article.

I certainly *do* appreciate "guest speakers", so to speak, who come from "outside" of Etsy. I think there is a LOT of value in having an opinion that is not influenced by anything other than what that "speaker" is passionate about. And I'm very happy to see that Etsy continued the discussion, with information and opinion from two Etsy sellers. (Along with all of our comments...)

Shopgoodgrace, Guest speakers are super! But not if their agenda is promoting their nonhandmade items.

thank you so much for presenting more information on this subject, & defending Etsy's legitimate coral sellers.

So, it is ok/legal to sell vintage coral?

I am happy to see a response to this issue being put forth in a well thought out fashion. It's a shame that it took so long for this to happen.

Too much too little too late to ever try again Too much too little too late let's end it being friends Too much too little too late we knew it had to end And it's over Yes it's over ---------------------------------------------------- Every move you make Every breath you take Every smile you fake Every claim you stake I'll be watching you

breadandroses So, it is ok/legal to sell vintage coral? ----------------------------------------------------- It was always ok/legal to sell vintage coral, and it was always ok/legal to sell ethically harvested coral. Always. The original article was just an advertisement for the author's line of 'looks like coral' jewelry. Shame on the disingenuous original article. Double shame on Etsy for publishing it, and for leaving it up, and for continuing to link to the petition.

Very well said and a nice representation for "the other side".

Thank you Cindy and Jennifer for your informed, well-written responses to the original article. As TooSoonOld mentioned above, the original article did seem to be an advertisement for the author's jewelry line and did not accurately represent the issue of endangered coral.

it's about time. thank you for finally showing all sides of the coral issues. In the future, deeper research should be recommended before publishing activists topics.

Thx, Cindy and Jen, but it's too bad your words were butchered down to almost nothing, by E.

thumbs up to Cindy & Jennifer, thank you both for taking the time & effort to try to reverse some damage. you guys rock :) it would have been nice if the original blog post had a link back to THIS page, since the whole point is to tell both sides.

I'm so glad to see that you got this published ladies! I admire you both for your passion about this subject and a well written informative article! Hopefully Etsy will think twice next time about publishing a one-sided article from an outside source, that hurts its sellers.

Thanks Cindy and Jennifer for your hard work. However, like others have said, this needs to be linked, hell, put right beside the original inflammatory article. By keeping them separate it will sink, which of course, would be what is hoped for.

Thank you Cindy and Jennifer. I think you both speak for many jewelry artists on Etsy regarding the use of coral and gave a fair rebuttal to Temple St Clair's one sided Stroque article and the petition to ban coral. Well done!

Thank you , Cindy and Jennifer!

Applauds the work of Cindy and Jennifers articles. I knew the original of Cindy's and some important points were left out, especially the point that the kind of coral that she petitioned about is a black market coral of which is not allowed in the US. Price alone of our creations reflect that it is not that kind of coral in the first place. Also in response to that first article, i won't provide a chain of custody of where i purchased my beads so that others can go and purchase from my sources cutting me out of the business. i'm sorry, i don't reveal my wholesale sources to anyone. I agree this was just a way for TSC to promote her 'like coral' pieces and it looked good to groom her image by way of that incorrectly researched article. I again applaud the articles of Lucinda and Jennifer. Thank you ladies for your precious time and effort.

Better late than never... But THANK YOU for finally posting this! Cindy, Jennifer, you two are a godsend!

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

ty ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ty

Thank you Cindy and Jennifer for writing the editorial. There is always two sides to a story and it was very important to have this published as well, written by actual Etsy sellers.

Thank you for giving us some honest information about coral.

Congratulations DesignsbyLucinda and LeeOhio on getting this published, and to all of you other determined campaigners who contributed to writing this article and getting Etsy to publish it, thank you for your hard work! It was shameless how the issue went on so long without the persons/sellers affected by the original article having an opportunity to rectify and rebut some of the glaring errors in the original.

Off to share this article...

Excellent posts ladies!!

I'm very glad to see this.

Thank you Luckey and Jennifer

betweenpietyandesire Glad DBL and LeeO got these published here. Nice job by both! Goes some way toward educating buyers and sellers. I want to be very happy about it. Unfortunately, it's too little too late. The original is still up without being linked to this response (while this links to the original post), and it still calls for a boycott of coral sellers. The original was a referred to as an article, giving it the weight of "fact" and filed under Activism, while these responses are called "Letter to the Editor", giving them the lesser weight of "viewpoint". I am glad that all Cindy's work was not in vain, though it seems to be much shorter and without any links, but it has been four weeks almost to the day. Sorry, this falls a little short. ---------------------- funkomavintage thank you Cindy and Jennifer for all your hard work, research, and perseverance with etsy to remind etsy that they should honor the sellers...because if we don't list, their company disappears. Etsy should label the original post that jewelry designer Temple St.Clair wrote as an advertisement for Temple St.Clair. -------------------------- Both quoted for truth. Why should I open a shop here when you treat your TOU-abiding sellers like this?

Great write-up Cindy and Jennifer! I really think that a mention should be placed in Announcements (Admin) in the Forums to give this new information equal time. Unless I missed it, this Letter to the Editor needs to have the same exposure as Ms. Saint Clair's blog article.

well done to Cindy and Jennifer! but why didn't Etsy publish the full article?

Wow - it took 4 weeks to post these ( non biased) responses to an advertisement from a poorly informed, grand standing jewelry designer who certainly doesn't conform to the handmade illusion of Etsy. I'm surprised there aren't any external links to these writers outside shops (if they have any) - perhaps they are too ethical to exploit Etsy's Storque for their own profit and self aggrandisement ?!! Well done Designer by Lucinda: http://www.etsy.com/shop/designedbylucinda Well done Lee Ohio http://www.etsy.com/shop/leeohio Shame on you Etsy!

Thank you Lucinda and Jennifer for this informative article. I am very happy to see an honest response to the first coral article. The first article was a self congratulatory piece full of misinformation and self promotion.

It takes courage to admit that you've made a mistake. The sourcing of coral was only ever a tiny portion of the issue, but I am glad that (part of) DBL's article was indeed published, and it's good to see in the comments that this information has been informative.

It's great to see such a constructive outcome to the (understandable) controversy caused by the contentious article. Thanks Cindy & Jennifer - handled with such class & integrity!

Good work Cindy and Jennifer. Shame on Etsy it took so long to respond and have even now reduced the writings so much. The original article was one sided and useless as any sort of factual essay on endangered coral. It potentially damaged legal sellers here on Etsy while doing nothing to mention the real threats to coral, i.e. pollution and warming. It was a disgraceful episode.

Thank you so very much for this. I appreciate it - I do sell coral in my shop - it's all bamboo coral. This has made me more aware of the types of coral used, and I will use what I have learned these past few weeks. Thanks again! :D

thank you for postiong the facts outlined by these 2 Etsians in the know about coral!

Thank you so much! This is wonderful.

Many thanks for the belated publication of some clarification & rebuttal to the obtrusive & contrived Temple St.Clair promotional ad.

Great job ladies!

Well done, Lucinda and Jennifer!

Thank you so much for this valuable contribution

4 weeks of hurt and angst caused by an unsupported blatant advertisement. Finally a small nod to the error. Thank you for this article you two. Shame on Etsy for leaving links on the other live and for running it un-vetted in the first place.

Another Thank You to Cindy and Jennifer. I have read DBL's entire letter and I might add that it wasn't entirely about coral.

Thank you. Nice Job Lucinda and Jennifer. You should be proud of this excellent article. Finally, an unbiased clarification of the facts.

The first article (The ad actually) turned me off from reading further Storque articles. I wouldn't have known this was here if it was not for the forums. I hope in the future the Storque does a bit of research prior to publishing propaganda that hurts so many sellers. Thanks Lucinda and everyone else for your tireless efforts! Sad that we lost community members over how this was all handled.

Congrats, guys!

As artists, it is important to make sure that we are using both ethically sourced materials, and ethical labor that produces those supplies. Do you know the working conditions of those producing your supplies? Do they work in conditions with appropriate labor and environmental laws? Something to think about.

Bravo, Cindy and Jennifer. Thank you both for taking the time to write this.

Oh, I am so pleased to see this. Great job, Jennifer and Lucinda! I was so offended by the original article. I thought it was one dimensional and misleading, and was shocked by the link to the pledge!

SO happy to read the other side of this, and despite the editing of these seller's original letters, I learned some things I'd not known. Glad Etsy allowed this to be published.

Thank you, Ladies. Unfortunately, I can't bring myself to 'thank' Etsy for providing a few meager lines of 'precious' Etsy space for this sadly truncated rebuttal. Had it not been for the tenaciously persistent Etsy buyers and sellers who kept this issue alive, we would still be looking at TSC's self-aggrandizing and poor-excuse-for-fact 'coral' article, not to mention the sanctimonious pledge; and the right thing would still remain unaccomplished. The rest of us know and appreciate all the research, effort and time away from your own shops that you ladies put into this.....so does Etsy - it just refuses to acknowledge it.

This is a sad excuse for a rebuttal. Letters to the Editor sound like a weak article. This isn't a similar article calling for a boycott on the boycott. Instead it's simply a bandaid on a bleeding gashing wound. Yes, I appreciate the effort of my other Etsians for trying to argue their point, however, Etsy's non-apologetic dismissive way of writing this is extremely annoying. They even end with: ********* A reminder: Etsy sellers warrant that their use of the site complies with applicable laws. So beyond legal concerns, it's up to each member to make the important ethical and moral decisions about what they choose to buy and sell. ******* CLEARLY implying Coral is still something that should scrutinized and perhaps be boycotted, and that they are doing this ONLY to try to stall the complaints.

Thank you! Great job!

Thank you Cindy (DesignsByLucinda) and Jennifer (LeeOhio) for your efforts and voices on this issue; I'm very glad to (finally) see it published.

Thank you Etsy - keep up the good work.

Two well thought out, reasoned, and educated articles. Thanks.

another thanks to cindy + jennifer: good to see these pieces here, at last.

awesome job! to the sellers who were so diligent in the production of this article.

Thank you Cindy and Jennifer! Glad that some of this at least got to see the light of day. It's really disappointing that it took so long, and that the original article is still up, though. I hope you do a better job of researching guest contributors in the future, Etsy, as well as any article you publish under your banner. It's a shame you hurt so many sellers with the thoughtless publication of the original "article".

Thank you so much Cindy and Jenn! Another thanks to everyone that kept this issue alive. The first article was a one sided disgrace and I am happy the truth about coral is being told here.

Thank you ladies for writing informed letters regarding the honest, ethical and informed Sellers, Creators and Business Owners on Etsy who use coral in their work. No one likes to feel that they have been unfairly accused, called out, declared unethical or intentionally dishonest in the course of business. Your letters and many additional comments point out fairly and correctly that there are a large variety of sources for legally obtained un-endangered coral either through re-purposed finds, farmed or faux. Thank you for attempting to cleanse the reputations of the many honest and reputable sellers using coral on Etsy.

Thank you ladies for attempting to use concise information to inform the readership of the Storque. No one likes to feel unfairly called out, declared dishonest or unethical in their personal or business practices. Most especially when it simply isn't true.

sorry double post

Great article, both letters are very well written and thoughtful. I hope this is the beginning of a constructive dialogue within the Etsy community on important issues and that we can in the future exchange views and communicate information to each other while avoiding damaging or hurtful remarks on both sides.

I just want to take a moment to say thank you for the flood of positive comments that I have seen here, in the forums and received in direct emails/convos. I won't lie, I was a but hesitant at putting myself and my business out there tied to such a hot topic. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this warm reception. It addition, and I think that I can speak for Cindy as well, (though we've never spoke about what we were writing in our individual posts) that we want all sellers (and buyers) to become as informed as possible. "Material origin awareness" is not just about coral or just a topic specific to jewelers but is pertinent to all designers and hobbyists. This idea can be extrapolated to every area of one's life as well (where does your produce come from, for example). Again I want to say that I don't want to promote one way of running a studio over another. But I do want to promote the idea of an open space to have civil, though often passionate, discussions. I've learned a lot since I've been here and I hope all of you can say the same. Thank you again to Etsy and Juliet for this wonderful opportunity to share my feelings on the subject. And thank you to the community for taking the time to read what I had to say and responding. Warmly, Jennifer (LeeOhio)

Thanks Cindy and Jennifer. Etsy,how "graceful" of you to bend under the pressure from your sellers. It only took a month and Cindy had her much longer article written a couple of weeks ago. You still just don't care, do you??

Thank you for these well-written response letters regarding the coral article.

Cindy and Jennifer, I'd just like to commend both of you for for your passion and commitment to this issue. It's important to know which battles to fight - and those are the ones we feel MOST passionate about. I am so very impressed with both of you. Well done, ladies, well done.

I thought this worth repeating..... I would hope that in the future, some type of research is done before allowing inaccurate or incomplete information to be published that can cause potential harm to the reputation of an entire group in our handmade community, as this has done.

Thank you Cindy and Jennifer...I also wished that Etsy would have posted ALL of Cindy,s write up..it is AWESOME and worthy of reading :-[

Thanks Jennifer and Cindy for your thoughtful information.

DesignedbyLucinda and LeeOhio, Thank you. http://www.DesignedByLucinda.etsy.com http://www.LeeOhio.etsy.com

Thanks Jennifer and Cindy for the well researched and balanced view, from two HANDMADE artists and members of this community. I do wish, that it had not taken Etsy 4 weeks to get the rebuttal published, and I think that THIS article should be linked in the original article, as well. This article links to the original, but a reader who found the misleading article first would never see a link to this more reasoned viewpoint.

Thank you Jennifer and Cindy!

Great letters! Thank you Cindy and Jennifer for taking the time to write them.

I agree with the seemingly 'condescending' tone of the original post about Coralgate. I'm quite certain those who are serious about their craft would be aware of the issues and ethics they may face. Even before I started making jewelry, I was aware of environmental issues that faced the harvesting of coral, and always made a conscious decision when it came to buying pieces or supplies. It had never swayed me from buying vintage coral pieces and eco-friendly supplies. I've always been a big fan of Temple St. Clair's work, and applaud her efforts in 'coral preservation', but maybe her article had been edited in such a way to reflect a movement for complete absence of coral from the jewelry market. Or, maybe she refuses to use any coral whatsoever in her pieces, which is her perogative (sp?). Her pieces will be as beautiful as ever with or without. This may be a 'too-little-too-late' problem for Etsy in alienating those who use 'eco-friendly' coral in their shops, but they haven't swayed the educated from the start. It just may question my own feelings about Etsy and their administrators.

Thanks for taking the time to discuss this issue!

Thank You, Cindy and Jennifer!

It's nice that you presented a different viewpoint than that of Temple St. Clair, although she had some very good points in her post as well. Thanks Etsy!!

I also agree that Etsy made a mistake in publishing the original article

I thought I was the only one who found the original post far too general in it's assumptions about jewellery creators across the world. I not only have an Honours degree in Environmental Management, but ethical sourcing of materials is something I am deeply passionate about. Here in Aus, I source the sustainably-farmed sea bamboo instead, & other shell products are by-products of sustainable industries that would otherwise be disposed of. Thank you for posting the other side of the argument that most of us are on by the looks!

Thanks for this follow up post! This is a topic I've been meaning to explore in depth for a while now. You've really shed light on some of the key issues that I was most concerned with.

very nice follow up. there is more I could say but some things are best left unsaid.

this is my first introduction to both articles thanks to lee ohio... I commend both sellers here for casting light on the negative connotations the first article had (which were many...) as an antique jewelry dealer, some of my old coral pieces are the most coveted, loved, and admired by myself and my fellow collectors. to call for a complete boycott of coral should also then call for the complete boycott of diamonds, gold, and all other precious material... all of which the original author takes full advantage of, and are full of ethical issues in their own right... the article was short sighted. thanks again to all who have supported us vintage sellers.

Thank you ladies...well written and well stated.

I did not read the original article (ad), but it seems to have opened a pandoras box of reactions. I do not think that Etsy is the place to tackle such complex issues. Are you going to ask the artists who deal in woods where their wood came from? Are you going to check the source of every gem, metal, and bead. Was the bead or fabric made by child labor? Was the gem dug up by slave labor? Asking a vendor where he purchased a product is a good idea but the bottom line is they want to sell product and may not always give you an honest answer. You have to do the best you can to help stop the injustice and acts of greed in the world, but you have to be human. Being human means that sometimes you will make a mistake and sometimes you are going to have to answer a question with an "I'm sorry I don't know the source'. Try to do the right thing and get involved with these issues in the proper forum. Do not start boycotting shops without extremely good reasons or you may start a domino effect that will hurt all Etsy sellers and buyers.

thanks

Thank you Jen from Lee Ohio for the informations and this interesting article, i appreciate this spirit of people thinking to our mother earth., and i agree too with cosmicheart, how told the truth :" some sellers maybe dont tell you form were they got the coral"!!, and why boycott selers! just have a really ethical rules , and try to save our planet , it's an international education!

About time someone said something about the coral problem. Breaks my heart when I think about the coral rief being destroyed in the name of peoples flighty vainness.

thank you both.

I really love that both artists were noncombative. Its as rare as coral these days ;) there is a very fine line, using shells and coral in my work...it is something I wrestle with. Beach and garage sales are really my very favorite sources! Its always better to err on the safer side of things. I love that etsy has opened up this forum. The better informed we are, and the more we listen to all sides of an issue...the more positive change, and beauty we can create.

Interesting, thank you

This reminds me about the crocheted coral reef project. http://crochetcoralreef.org/about/index.php

I couldn't agree more with both Cindy and Jennifer's comments. Well said ladies! Well thought out responses and arguments. I have shared on FB and Tweeted, so hopefully more people will be educated on this sensitive subject! C. x