Plastic has replaced ivory and synthetic keytops in the majority of pianos, while cattle bone and simulated mineral keytops have also replaced ivory and synthetic keytops. CITES prevented further slaughter of animals for the purpose of using materials in pianos. Since the ban on ivory took effect in 1989/90, there has been no detectable level of ivory in the piano industry. Piano Price Point is a website that focuses on modern piano making.
While these bans have undoubtedly had an impact on the illegal ivory trade, they have also been criticized for driving up the price of ivory and making it more lucrative for poachers. China, which has long been the world’s largest market for ivory, enacted a nationwide ban on the commercial trade in ivory in January 2018. In 2011, the EU banned the importation of ivory from all African countries except Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. The European Union enacted a similar ban in 1990, and has since tightened its restrictions several times. The United States first banned the importation of African elephant ivory in 1989, and followed up with a near-total ban on the domestic trade in ivory in July 2016. When were ivory piano keys banned? This is a difficult question to answer definitively because the ban on ivory piano keys has been enacted and enforced in fits and starts, and has never been Global in scope.
