We have known them in the Netherlands for centuries and in the past the origin was often unclear, but due to good regulations, a lot has changed in how we deal with everything from the sea and ocean. For example, the shells we use come from Vietnam and The Philippines, where the shells are collected on the beach and care is taken to ensure that the shells comply with the strict rules that e.g. CITES states it. Leave shells that are not allowed to be collected. Besides collecting shells, a lot comes from the food industry. After processing shells as food, often a beautiful decorative product remains that is very desirable in other countries, so instead of grinding beautiful shells, they are neatly reused, which also benefits the local population. We can never guarantee that the wrong shell will not slip through because there are sometimes hundreds of classes and subclasses of 1 shell and even a biologist can sometimes not tell you what is and what is not allowed. But please take it from us that we are doing what we can to ensure that the sea and ocean are not damaged, this is in no one's interest and we are happy to still be selling the same fantastic seashells 25 years from now.