Sustainable jewelry is an important step towards environmental protection and fair working conditions. We will show you which brands you can trust with a clear conscience.
What exactly does sustainable jewelry mean? When we talk about sustainability, we often talk about recycling. And that is exactly what matters when it comes to jewellery. Because reusable resources make the (jewellery) world more sustainable. This applies to both metals and renewable raw materials such as wood or cork and even precious stones that are recycled for new jewelry. With sustainable jewelry, however, new things can also be produced, for example diamonds are created in the laboratory or gold is obtained without the addition of mercury – the main thing is that it is fair! Find out below why general precious metal production is so problematic.
Sustainable jewelery is therefore nothing more than a mixture of recycling environmentally friendly materials and fair trade around the creation and delivery.
Fairtrade brands for sustainable jewelry
When looking for sustainable jewellery, there are a few signs you can look out for to make sure you are dealing with a fair label. We show you which brands produce sustainable jewelry.
1. A beautiful story
A beautiful story was born out of an idea to save a silversmith in Nepal from ruin. Cathelijne Lania is a marketer from the Netherlands when she hears that her favorite blacksmith in the South Asian country was suffering from a financial crisis in 2006. She wants to save the beautiful, handmade jewelry and the smithy and comes up with the idea of using shards of ceramic mugs to make unique jewelry out of them. After returning to the Netherlands, she quickly finds enthusiastic buyers, so she takes more and more orders to Nepal, where inherited tea services are transformed into individual pieces of jewellery. In the meantime, she has built up a worldwide network of partners who are happy about the fair trade jewelery from Nepal.
2. fejn jewelry
Reduced, clean, puristic – that’s how it is described fejn jewelry the look of your own jewelry. He should appeal to everyone. The real jewelry is made from recycled, certified 925 silver and is then gilded with 24-carat gold if necessary. There are also pieces made from pure recycled 14k gold. And fejn also remains fair when it comes to the decoration, because the diamonds are grown in the laboratory and the gemstones used are fairly sourced. Manufactured in a certified factory in Thailand, the pieces of jewelery make their way to the retailer with plastic-free packaging and climate-neutral transport.
3. little mus
A jewel for a season? Not with little mus. Breathed in by the Scandinavian vibe, the jewelery from the German brand should be suitable for everyone and accompany them for as long as possible. When it comes to jewelry, Lara and Clemens, the company’s founders, rely on porcelain that is handmade in a factory in Germany and undergoes a complex firing process to make it more durable.
4. Pakilia
Fair trade will be at Pakilia capitalized. The artisans of the jewelery label come from Taxco, a city in Mexico, and work there under humane, respectful and fair conditions. In addition to sustainability, values such as transparency, respect and dialogue are also important. Sterling silver, local pearls and natural stones are used to create the jewelery by hand. Any leftovers from the processing of the silver are kept and used for new pieces of jewellery.
5. pikfine accessories
at pikfineAccessories we work out of conviction with natural materials and in resource-saving manufacturing processes. There is a story behind every piece of jewelry and with every necklace, every ring and every bracelet you will be informed about where the raw materials used come from – transparency is the keyword here. pikfine also attaches great importance to compatibility, recycling and the use of local resources.
6. Kaalee
Jewelry parts that are mainly produced in China? For Leela Kaarow, founder of Kaalee, no option. The information about quality, ingredients, delivery routes and production conditions were always too imprecise for her. Something that is not compatible with sustainability. In 2019, she decided to make jewelry from recycled gold. After she found suitable partners, she has since had the jewelry formed and manufactured by a local goldsmith.
7. Tallystick
The brand provides sunglasses, bracelets and watches made from sustainable materials tally here. Instead of glass, high-quality cellulose acetate is used, which is made from a mixture of plant residues and acetic acid and is sourced from the Italian brand. But when it comes to wood, too, care is taken not to use endangered resources such as various tree species. Instead, they focus on wood from oak, walnut and even sandalwood – all from sustainably managed forests in Italy. When it comes to leather, Kerbholz uses a lot of recycled leather in order to keep the production of waste and the environmental impact of the production of their items as low as possible.
Why sustainable jewelry makes sense
Not only the environment is protected by sustainable jewelry and the use of local resources. It is important to know that the extraction of precious metals such as silver and gold or precious stones and diamonds involves great risks for people. Child labour, conflicts and just handling mercury – sometimes without protective clothing – pose great dangers for people and the environment.
Children are used to mine the metals and gems grown in the narrow mines. Violent conflicts threaten because, in addition to the companies, other people are also interested in the valuable raw materials and do not shy away from armed violence. In addition, the workers often experience discrimination and exploitation.
Opt for sustainable jewelry, counteract the effects and conditions. In addition to labels that pay attention to sustainability, you can also click on second hand jewellery To fall back on. Most products are of high quality and can be used by a new owner for many years or even decades.
Note: This article first appeared on brigitte.de
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