Japanese Consumers Choose Ivory Substitutes

Market Research Results for Ivory Substitutes

The Japan Wildlife Conservation Society (JWCS) conducted an online market research survey in August 2025. The results are as follows.

– 88.3% of respondents answered, “There are no ivory products I want to buy or plan to buy in the future.”

– 64.1% answered, “If a new material of the same quality as ivory were developed and sold at the same price as ivory, I would choose ivory substitutes.”

– 63.6% answered, “I knew that elephants are killed for their ivory.”

– People who choose ivory over substitutes tended to be unaware of the killing of elephants, while those who knew about the killing of elephants tended to choose substitutes. (Significant difference at the 1% level of significance.)

These survey results suggest that demand for ivory in Japan is low, so closing the domestic ivory market would have little impact. Also, ivory substitutes were chosen by the majority, and that awareness of the current situation of elephant poaching could further increase consumers’ preference for substitutes.