Synthetic Ivory was used in the late 1800's when the demand for ivory billiard balls was putting excessive pressure on elephant herds. Ever since then, there have been cheaper substitutes for real ivory. The big advantage to using 3-D printing to make plastic grips will be the cost savings from not having to make an expensive injection mold for very small production runs.
The real thing will likely always be more desirable, and poachers will continue to get big bucks for real ivory on the black market.
