The Red List of Endangered Crafts

Have you heard of the Red List? Created by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, it is the world’s most comprehensive source of information about the health of animal, fungi, and plant species around the globe. Since it was established in 1964, the IUCN has evaluated 169,420 species and placed them into one of nine categories: Not Evaluated, Data Deficient, Least Concern, Near Threatened, Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically Endangered, Extinct in the Wild, and Extinct. The Red List is, obviously, a valuable resource for everyone involved with biodiversity conservation. 

A UK group called Heritage Crafts has developed their own version of the Red List. Instead of focusing on endangered animals, they identify traditional crafts that are extinct or at risk of dying out. 

I encourage you to read the whole list, as it is very interesting. But I'll call out a few facts that struck me. 

• There are 165 items on the Red List of Endangered Crafts. 
• There are 12 crafts that have been newly categorized in the 2025 update as Critically Endangered. These include skills like cut crystal glass making, fabric flower making, quilting in a frame, glove making, and rattan furniture making. 
• For the first time ever, the Red List has a Resurgent category. Skills like reverse glass sign painting and side saddle making are doing better in recent years. 

You can read about each individual craft, like this entry on bow making, which is Critically Endangered. It's fascinating. Or this one on rug tufting, which is a Resurgent craft. I'm not surprised to hear that rug tufting is making a comeback in the UK; there are rug tufting studios that have opened in the US in recent years and quite a few artsy YouTubers have given rug tufting a go recently. 

I need to reiterate that, unlike the IUCN's Red List that is worldwide, the Red List of Endangered Crafts only covers the UK. I've never come across a list like this for other countries; if you're aware of one, please send me a link. But even if the UK has the only list, it stands to reason that heritage crafts are endangered in many other parts of the world as it is more difficult for skilled craftspeople to earn a living for their hard work.