Is it possible to get eco friendly jewelry UK?
Is it possible to get eco friendly jewelry UK? Diamonds might be a girl’s best friend, but they aren’t necessarily the earths. Any industrial jewelry mining can have a harmful negative impact on the environment.
From the carbon footprint of the heavy machinery used, to the stripping of the land and leakage of harmful chemicals into the water supply all of which can alter an entire ecosystem. This destruction is especially true for metal and gold mining, not to mention that millions of gold miners earn low wages in very hazardous working conditions and the politics involved.
However you don’t need to give up all jewelry completely to become eco friendly. There are materials available that have been mined with the least possible negative impact on the environment, or not mined at all and luckily there are plenty of ethical and sustainable jewelry brands out there. With a bit of ingenuity youcan locate beautiful, affordable eco friendly jewelry that you’ll love forever. Or you can even make your own. Here’s a look at some materials which can be used to make eco friendly jewelry.
Chains:
- Recycled silver and gold. Asustainable alternative which reduces the demand for mining these precious metals.
- Faux leather cord is an eco-friendly alternative to genuine leather.
Pendants:
- Repurposed wood, driftwood or fossilised wood can make amazing unique pieces.
- Glass is a very versatile eco alternative and you can even encase your favourite pressed flower inside.
- Natural stones. More often than not if you take a stroll along the beach you can come across some beautiful stones.
- Clay is another great material as its very easy to shape and can be made in many different colours.
- Almost anything vintage of the correct sizecan be repurposed into a pendant.
Bracelets:
- Repurposed metals, recycled coins or chain give a great precious metal look.
- Seeds strung together. Any will do, but seeds that naturally occur in striking colours look great.
- Any unique material you can recycle for example vinyl record. Really, anything will work.
Earrings:
- You can find some amazing unique earrings made of recycled plastic bottles.
- Glass again is another great eco friendly option. Especially recycled glass.
- Found objects of the right size will work really well regardless of what they’re made of.
Rings:
- Rings crafted from salvaged and sustainably grown wood can look amazing and very unique.
- Recycled precious metals and gems can be made into a gorgeous ring you can love forever.
Conclusion: The good news, metals can be recycled repeatedly without losing quality, and a lot of jewelry companies are now using recycled metals. This decreases the demand for new metals to be mined, and encourages recycling so win, win and their are many natural or recycled materials you can use to replace the “blood diamond”.
Eco friendly Jewelry packaging
Whether you are looking at making your own eco friendly jewelry or buying it, you don’t want the beauty of your piece to be let down by non sustainable packaging. Luckily there are so many companies offering eco friendly packaging nowadays your spoilt for choice. From 100% recycled material boxes to organic cotton pouches. You can even get your logo or message printed using 100% green ink which is made up of cooking oil instead of using synthetic materials which can be harmful to the environment.
Here is a list of some eco friendly jewelry packaging ideas:
- Recycled and recyclable gift boxes. Make sure the glue, paper and cardboard used during production are all 100% eco-friendly. Instead of oil based, foam jewelry box inserts recycled card inserts can be used.
- Earring cards made from recycled card. You can either buy these or make your own. Simply cut out squares of recycled cardboard paper then use a punch to create the holes. Why not make them unique and attach old wallpaper scraps to the card before punching the holes.
- Fold over hang tags are perfect for packaging and branding necklaces and bracelets. A small hang tag allows for product visibility while still allowing easy brand awareness.
- Organic cotton bags as a natural product, cotton is completely biodegradable and reusable.
- Jute / burlap bags. Jute is the second-most important vegetal fibre after cotton and it is even more sustainable than cotton. Since it needs less water, maintenance, pesticides, and fertilisation to yield significant crops. Which makes it a great eco friendly choice for jewelry packaging.
