Sustainability is a trend that keeps rising, permeating every aspect of our lives. From sustainable food to sustainable toothpaste, it’s become a lifestyle. So it’s only natural that the jewellery industry have also jumped on this bandwagon.
With an ever increasing number of jewellery brands promoting sustainable collections, how much do we really understand about ‘sustainable jewellery’?
What is sustainable jewellery? An obvious question but without an obvious answer, as the definition is too broad but lacking clear guidelines. In the most uncomplicated way, I would describe it as jewellery that comes without environmental and social burdens. Recycled materials, eco-friendly, ethical, Fairtrade, Fairmined Gold, conflict-free diamond, lab grown diamond – these are some of the keywords that often appear in the same space. These terms are intertwined to make right the wrongs in the jewellery industry. So it’s okay to get confused and lost in this myriad of terms. They all lead to the same thing – sustainable jewellery.
The more we delve into the details the more complex it gets, with multilayers of processes embedded in the ‘mine-to-market’ journey. As such, it is difficult (although not impossible) for us as consumers to truly trace the sustainability footprint of a piece of jewellery. Asking the jeweller would be a good starting point. Some brands like Chopard, makes their sourcing process transparent.
Let’s not dissect further as this is a topic too broad to be understood with just a few words. What we need to know is that we need to make a conscious decision when it comes to buying jewellery. Will we be contributing to the damage caused by jewellery industry, or will we do our part in fixing and preventing it? The answer lies in our choice to shift to sustainable jewellery. It may not be the answer to all the problems, but it is the beginning of the right path.
Are you ready to step onto this path and make the change? Here’s what you can do:
- Work with independent/small scale artisans.
- Choose sustainable materials.
- Embrace slow fashion. Choose quality over quantity.
- Go for vintage or pre-loved.
- Repurpose your existing jewellery.