Working on sustainability!

Sustainability in my jewellery business

I think a lot of people are trying to find the perfect gift that doesn’t cost the earth - figuratively and literally speaking - be that gifting your time, an experience or something made locally or from a small business. With this in mind, here are some of the ways that I am working hard to make sustainability the centre of my business with a smaller carbon footprint and a lighter step on our planet.

Thoughtful packaging

Simply beautiful boxes.

I try very hard to make sure that my work and all my packaging is as carefully sourced as possible.  Each piece of jewellery comes in a beautiful un-dyed, card box made from recycled card and outer paper from sustainable forests. Inside, you will find your jewellery nestled on a piece of wool, carded and felted to give it a lovely texture and under a piece of reclaimed felt from fellow makers who work with felt and natural sheep wool (OmPomPom and Nat Fibre Co). It is finished off with a luxurious ribbon made from recycled plastic bottles which you can reuse.

As well as working hard to ensure the materials I use in my workshop are as good as I can source, I am also conscious of the impact my business makes in the world. I use eco cleaning products, recycle as much as possible, have a garden compost system, reduce my single use plastic and buy as much locally grown food as I can alongside growing a little in my garden too.

Re-use - Reduce - Recycle

Handmade silver and gold rings lined up with boxes

I re-use as much packaging as possible and buy recycled paper tissue so please excuse the not so perfect look when your post arrives, what is inside will be perfect!! I recycle as much as possible and use old tins and plastic bottles as plant pots for all my garden cuttings. I do small beach cleans whenever I take the dog to the beach and I’m continually trying to reduce the amount of plastic packaging I consume.

Recycled and Fair-trade

I use recycled silver and Fairtrade gold to make jewellery and all the stones I buy are carefully sourced. I am now registered with the Fair-trade Gold Foundation which allows me to buy Fair-trade certified Gold . The gold on plated items is recycled which isn’t as good as Fairtrade but at the moment is the only option. Ethical Making and jeweller Ute Decker are a great source of useful material about the ethics and sustainability.

‘Recycled’ metals, particularly gold, are, ethically speaking, not as good as they sound. The term is often associated with greenwashing as the supply chain can easily be corrupted and it can be very difficult to accurately follow where the metals are coming from. I use Cooksons 100% recycled silver which they have assured me is fully recycled material, 100% traceable and contains no newly mined material. To date (2023), I have not been able to find a better alternative.

I use traceable precious stones for commissions where possible though this can be difficult as there is no Fairtrade certification at the moment. I can source manmade diamonds which are being produced in Cornwall and while they use a lot of energy to produce, they are not susceptible to corruption and slavery. They are chemically identical to natural diamonds and have no imperfections and are made by people being paid a proper wage in good conditions. https://www.ethica.diamonds/our-stones/ .

Enjoying more ethical and sustainable gifting isn't about not having the things you love; it's about being thoughtful and considerate for our environment in the way in which we consume. The benefits of reducing our consumption are visible in our happiness, sanity, our bank accounts, and importantly: the environment. So, there are plenty of good reasons to celebrate buying from small businesses who put sustainability at the heart of everything they do. If you have ideas that could make my small business more earth friendly, please drop me a line, I'd love to hear from you.