Ethical Jewellery Making and Sustainability
What is Ethical Jewellery?
As a small handmade business owner, I aim to create beautiful, timeless jewellery that you will want to cherish. It is important to me that materials I use are produced with minimal harmful impact on the environment and people. To this end, I am constantly working towards making my practice and sourcing as ethical is I can. In May 2023, I took the Fair Luxury ‘Pledge’ as a commitment to furthering my sustainable business practices in jewellery making.
Ethical Jewellery and Gold Plating
Part of my pledge to my ethical jewellery journey is to continue not using gold plating as part of my making process. Gold plated or gold vermeil jewellery involves adding a layer of gold to another metal (usually silver, but can be brass or copper). For me, the process of gold plating raises a number of ethical concerns. Firstly, the process of gold plating often uses harmful chemicals which can be detrimental to the environment and on the health of the workers involved in the process. Secondly, the mining of gold, even for plating purposes is associated with serious environmental issues such as deforestation, destruction of human and wildlife habitats, water pollution, and land degradation. Additionally, there are ethical concerns around labour conditions in the gold mining industry.
The practical and functional issues around gold-plated and gold vermeil jewellery are also out of alignment with my own ethical values. Over time and dependent of usage, the layer of plating on jewellery will wear away and this leaves the wearer with two options: the expense of getting the piece re-plated or not wearing it. The former option repeats the concerning environmental processes laid out in my opening paragraph, whilst the alternative of consigning a piece of jewellery to the bottom of a drawer (or a rubbish bin) leads to the continuation of ‘throwaway’ fast fashion culture.
This is why I prefer to make versatile, timeless jewellery that you will want to invest in.
Fairmined and Ethical Jewellery Making
Traceability of the materials used in the production of sustainable and ethical jewellery is an important part of ensuring that the pieces I make are ethical. My aim is to use suppliers that share my business ethos: using recycled and recyclable materials whenever possible.
As a licensed Fairmined brand, I have access to gold and silver that is fully traceable to the artisanal, small-scale mining organisations that offer the greatest opportunities for the communities directly involved. On a wider scale, using Fairmined precious metals will also improve the wider environmental impacts of mining. You can find out more about Fairmined here or directly if you’d like a Fairmined bespoke jewellery design.
Recycled Materials and Ethical Jewellery
I use recycled and recycled 9ct, 14ct and 18ct gold. I recycled all of my scrap silver and gold, as well as offering a jewellery ‘remodelling’ service to clients wishing to reuse heirloom jewellery for bespoke jewellery commissions.
I’m committed to small batch making and making to order, as this helps to reduce waste and stockpiling of materials. The gemstones I use are vintage, reclaimed or sourced from responsible dealers to ensure that they are conflict-free.
Sustainable Packaging for Ethical Jewellery
I take my time to create handcrafted jewellery that I want you to love, from the moment it arrives, so presentation of my jewellery is as important as production. Mindful packaging will also help to maintain your ethical jewellery in the best possible way, enhancing your jewellery care.
The topic of packaging may not sound very exciting but it is as important the the planet, as any resource we use. Resource scarcity, pollution, waster, carbon emissions and human rights can all be linked to the amount of packaging we use (or not). As a result, I aim only to use packaging that is either recycled and/or recyclable. This is an ever-evolving topic: as of January 2023, 81% of consumers were demanding sustainable packaging from brands.
Ange B Designs is committed to making a positive impact on the planet. In partnership with Ecologi, for every newsletter form submission I receive, a tree will be planted in Madagascar.
Brand Committments
Modern slavery is a term used to encompass servitude, slavery, forced and compulsory labour, bonded and child labour and human trafficking. Human trafficking is where a person arranges or facilitates the travel of another person or persons with a view to them being exploited. Modern slavery is a crime and a violation of fundamental human rights.
We shall be a company that expects everyone working with us and on our behalf to uphold the following measures to safeguard against modern slavery and human trafficking:
Zero-tolerance to modern slavery in our organisation and supply chain.
Prevention, detection and reporting of modern slavery.
we are committed to engaging with suppliers to address potential risks of modern slavery throughout our industry.
On-going assessment and due diligence to assess potential risks of modern slavery amongst suppliers and allied organisations.
We will take appropriate action if suppliers or allied organisations are found to be engaged in modern slavery or human trafficking.
Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking Policy
Ethics in jewellery is NOT just about the environmental impacts. It is as much about the socioeconomic impacts and politics of sustainability; this in turn will include the rights of women and other potentially vulnerable groups. , This policy applies to all persons working for me and my behalf, in any capacity including employees at all levels: directors, agency workers, volunteers, contractors and suppliers.
Ange B Designs strictly prohibits the use of modern slavery and human trafficking in our organisation and supply chain. We have and will continue to be committed to implementing systems and controls aimed at ensuring that modern slavery is not taking place anywhere within our organisation or in any of our supply chains. We expect that our suppliers will hold their suppliers to the same high standards.
Development of Ethical Jewellery Making
As an ethical jewellery designer and maker, I feel I have a responsibility to work in a way that is as considerate and transparent as possible. A great place for knowledge on ethical jewellery making is the Ethical Making Resource.
I also have a role in educating my customers and empowering them to make informed choices when purchasing their ethically made jewellery. I can only educate others by continuing to educate myself.
