Jewelry was never just about adding another object to an ensemble but rather, it has always revolved around making a statement no matter how subtle or bold it may be. And showing the world that you care about the planet, its people and the products is the loudest statement you can make. From the outside, sustainable jewelry sounds very inaccessible and complicated, but on a much deeper level it does share a lot of common concerns with Sustainable garments like overproduction and ethical supply chain. But there is one additional concern that shadows the Jewelry industry – metal mining.
The Jewelry industry is a prominent segment of metal consumption, especially precious metals like gold and silver. Roughly half of all the gold produced annually gets produced into jewelry, and around 1/4th of the platinum and 1/5th of silver is utilized for Jewelry. The source of all this starts with mining, where a lot of harmful gasses get introduced to the atmosphere. With such strong numbers, it is essential to see how to make it more sustainable for the longer run. Enter, Sustainable Jewelry. Sustainable jewelry is made from recycled precious metals, fair-trade practices, and conflict-free gems. It’s also often made by artisans in developing countries who are paid a fair wage for their work.
How Does a Piece of Jewelry Classify as Sustainable?
There are so many factors that can help push a product towards sustainability. It could be how it is made, who makes it, what it’s made of, or how it’s used that can make a piece of Jewelry sustainable. The types of sustainable jewelry are indefinite. Sustainability can be pursued by making lasting products with longer life cycles or, they can be made by adapting fair trade practices and ethical labor and wage laws or, they can be made by using repurposing old materials to ensure less new resources are utilized or, they can be made by using sustainable practices that involve minimal or no pollution. The concept of sustainability can be implemented from so many different directions. If you are confused which method will make the transition as seamless as possible for your production line, contact us.
Benefits of Sustainable Jewelry
- Firstly, It’s good for the environment. Sustainable jewelry helps to reduce waste and pollution.
- Secondly, It supports ethical practices and helps to ensure that the people who make your jewelry are treated fairly.
- Thirdly, It’s good for your style. Sustainable jewelry is just as stylish as traditional jewelry, but it has a modern and fun edge. Thinking outside the box, adds an extra USP to your brand.
- Lastly, It’s good for your wallet. Sustainable jewelry is often more affordable than traditional jewelry. This is because it’s made from recycled materials and doesn’t require the use of harmful chemicals.
Sustainable Gold and Silver
Solid gold and silver are extremely versatile metals. They are durable, and can be melted and reused over and over again. We at Deepwear believe in the idea that producing gold or silver does not have to be a burden on the environment. By producing these jewelry, you can simply remelt your over stock and pieces that didn’t get sold into fresher newer pieces without worrying about storing the old stock or purchasing newer materials. It simply also means, no piece should ever come on reduction due to being from an older trend and can just be transformed into newer styles and also reduce the impact of mining. The main process is melting the used/tarnished jewelry item and then remade into another product.The entire process of recycling metals is sustainable in a way wherein the elements that are used to reforge it are also recycled (such as water and electricity). Your sustainable journey is just a click away!
What to Recycle Into?
- The most conventional method would be to recycle old jewelry into new jewelry by remelting and recasting them. This requires good understanding of the techniques and design understanding to make products that can be easily reused.
- You can also reuse your old jewelry by making other accessories like buckles, belts, sunglasses frames, loops etc.
- The other idea is to remelt the old jewelry pieces into fine gold or silver threads that can be woven into finer threads woven into fabrics that have gorgeous motifs on them. Our factories in India specialize in Zari fabrics which can be a fun new way to repurpose the old jewelry. To know more about it, contact our team today!
How Can Deepwear Help You?
Almost a decade ago, a lot of people were insisting on making jewelry with recycled and Sustainable materials mainstream, which would in turn produce less demand for freshly dug metals, which in turn would minimize the harmful effects of mining. Regardless to say, that never went through due to the enormous economic impact of mining and correlating political oppression. And with the prices of gold and silver going up, more people wanted to sell it. So if the scenario isn’t really changing, why adopt recycled metals? Well it’s simple, while small drops might not water a plant, they can join to become the big ocean. In that aspect, anything we do does not really have a life altering impact on the global ecosystem, yet we do it, simply because it is the right thing to do.
Sustainable jewelry is aligned with Deepwear’s ethos of promoting sustainability across all the services we do. We at Deepwear aim to help in the transformation of the jewelry industry by promoting a more sustainable way of sourcing and producing ethical sustainable jewelry, not only in terms of recycled metals but also materials such as water and electricity (solar power).
We have more than 10 key factories in Thailand and many more in China, India, Portugal and Turkey. We have trusted partners with the certifications from the RJC (Responsible Jewelry Council) who are capable of sourcing and producing ethical and sustainable jewelry in the most responsible way. And we are here to ensure that everything is up to your and our quality standards. Additionally we support transparent sourcing ideas and work with sustainable raw materials. Our team personally checks every sustainable jewelry manufacturer we partner with to ensure fair trade practices and ethical labor environments are maintained.
It is our responsibility, to contribute towards the betterment of the planet, even in the simplest of ways hence we look for partners that contribute towards this goal.
To join hands with us and make a difference, click here.