Environment and ethics
Every business has an environmental and ethical impact - a micro business operated by an indie designer is no different. Plus of course creating jewelry has its own special array of environmental and ethical considerations.
I believe strongly that if we expect big business and governments to make changes to help make the world a better place, then even very small businesses and individuals like you and me need to play a part as well.
Buying handmade from indie designers is one small way that you can help make the world a better place by moving away from everything you purchase being mass-produced - sometimes in very bad circumstances - and also being supportive of people working for themselves and the community that comes with indie design in particular.
How I aim to make a difference
Here is a rundown of how I try to make a contribution towards a better world by way of operating my handmade jewelry business as responsibly as I can.
- I now offer customers an optional carbon offset purchase in my primary online shops. For a small amount you can voluntarily opt to make a carbon offset contribution for your purchase/s by way of trees being planted. These contributions are collected and once they reach a value of AU$30 in total they are donated to Carbon Neutral - an Australian-run non-profit carbon offset organisation.
- My metal supplier now uses 100% recycled metal in its milled products, such as silver and gold sheet and wire. My jewellery pieces are almost entirely made of these products, with just a very small quantity of findings coming from other sources, such as crimps and brooch findings.
- All scrap metal left over from creating my handmade jewellery is collected for recycling - including filings. Gold and silver scrap is ultimately sent off to be melted down, refined and reused.
- I create some handmade jewelry designs which are specifically intended to recycle as much of my scrap metal as possible so that generally only small pieces are refined. A few examples of these pieces are below:
- When selecting chemicals to use in my business I always use a safer and/or lower impact alternative when available, such as borax for flux and citric acid for pickle.
- I do use some precious and semi-precious gemstones in my jewellery, however, for precious stones which may have a higher value and which cannot be guaranteed to come from an ethical source, I use lab grown gemstones as an alternative if available. Lab grown stones have none of the potential ethical or environmental issues that mined stones do, yet are identical on a molecular level to the stones they replace. They also have a beautiful clarity and colour and yet are far less expensive to use.
- I recycle all other recyclable waste generated by my business, such as paper and plastic.
- I use paper which is at least 50% recycled in my business. I use other recycled products wherever it is feasible.
- My lighting - including for photography - is low energy wherever possible.
- The hosting for my primary website and blog is powered entirely by renewable energy.
- I'm fortunate to be able to work from home, so there is no daily commuting to be done!
