sold each year. The decline in the use of natural 

 sponges can be attributed to several factors. 



Before 1938 the sponge industry market for 

 natural sponges in the United States was 

 divided, according to Sponge and Chamois In- 

 dustry trade reports, as follows: 



25 percent went to amateur cleaners and 

 housewives; 



25 percent was used by the pottery, tile, 

 shoe, and miscellaneous manufacturers; 

 and 



foamlike structure of the synthetic tends to pick 

 up and hold the dirt while the meshwork of the 

 natural sponge allows the dirt to be washed out 

 thoroughly. It is not improbable that a synthetic 

 sponge with the strength and quality of the 

 natural sponge and with the added advantage 

 of controlled shape will in time be developed 

 with fibers so arranged that the synthetic can 

 be as readily and as thoroughly cleaned as the 

 natural sponge. Even if this is accomplished, 

 it would not necessarily mean that a good 

 grade of natural sponge at a competitive price 

 could not find a place in the market for special 

 purposes. 



50 percent was sold to professional painters, 

 decorators, and wall washers. 



Cheaper grades of sponges, grass and yellow, 

 were used by the amateur cleaners and house- 

 wives while the better grades went to various 

 industries. With the start of World War II, im- 

 ports of sponges from the Mediterranean de- 

 clined. During the war total landings of 

 sponges in Florida declined about 50 percent as 

 a result of the 1938 disease. With sponges in 

 short supply, the price rose steadily. Immedi- 

 ately after the war, imports of sponges from 

 the Mediterranean were again resumed — over 

 $3 million worth in 1946 — with the result that 

 domestic sponge prices were depressed. 



Principal aims of the sponge producer, 

 therefore, should be to solve the problem of 

 keeping the price of the natural product down 

 so that less expensive natural sponges can be 

 reintroduced into the market for the housewife, 

 a market that has remained untouched for the 

 past 15 years. Secondly, there should be an 

 effort made to reduce the price of the better 

 grade wool sponges so that they will be more 

 in line with the competitive price of the syn- 

 thetic. This can only be done if the sponge pro- 

 ducers are willing to adopt more efficient 

 methods of harvesting and better management 

 of the sponge grounds, which in turn will 

 assure a large and continuous supply of sponges 

 at a lower price. 



During the war increased prices, short 

 supply of natural sponges, and the introduction 

 of an inexpensive synthetic substitute resulted 

 in the natural sponges being unavailable to the 

 amateur cleaners and housewives. High prices 

 also forced industrial users to try synthetic 

 sponges as substitutes so that part of the 

 market was lost in this way as well. In the 

 decorating industry, where the greater per- 

 centage of the natural sponges were used, 

 changes in methods and materials, such as the 

 use of paint for ceilings instead of calcimine, 

 and higher wages, which discouraged the prepa- 

 ration of walls by washing, reduced the uses 

 of sponges by about half in this phase of 

 industry. 



The two principal objections to the synthetic 

 sponge at the present time are that (1) the 

 plastic material is not as strong as the natural 

 spongin fibers of the wool sponge and (2) the 



Purposes of Recommendations 



My recommendations are made with the fol- 

 lowing purposes in mind: 



1. To increase the number of sponges avail- 

 able for harvesting so that the return to 

 the individual sponge fisherman will in- 

 crease within a reasonably short length 

 of time. 



2. To assure a continued and stable supply 

 of sponges for harvesting so that: 



a. The sponge fishermen will be guaran- 

 teed a reasonably steady income in the 

 years to come. 



b. The ultimate dealer can depend on a 

 constant and reliable source of 

 sponges, for without this assurance it 



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