When most people think of sustainable living, jewellery isn’t the first thing that springs up in their mind. You may associate an eco-conscious lifestyle with recycling, conserving water or eating less meat. While these lifestyle changes are important for protecting our planet, sustainable jewellery choices also play a crucial role.
You may already own sustainable jewellery without even realising it, and a few manufacturers do it easy for consumers to shop with the environment in mind. However, currently, the number of sustainable jewellery manufacturers is not significant. In this article, we will explore what makes jewellery sustainable and if it’s truly worth the investment.
What Makes Jewellery Sustainable?
There are several ways jewellery manufacturing can become more sustainable, which enable brands to make simple adjustments to their processes that can have a significant environmental impact:
Recycled raw materials
Jewellers should first consider the raw materials they use in their manufacturing process. Typically, gold, silver and platinum metals are produced through mining, a process that originated 5,000 years ago. The mining process destroys large amounts of land in its process. This operation is harmful to wildlife and habitats that thrive in these areas and has caused large amounts of deforestation and soil erosion for thousands of years. Additionally, mining requires the use of toxic chemicals such as cyanide, mercury, etc. If these chemicals leach into water sources such as rivers and streams, they can poison them. So how can jewellers improve this process to make it more environmentally-friendly?
Many manufacturers are choosing recycled metals to avoid and limit the mining process taking place. This process takes existing materials and recycles them into new ones, through melting and refining. Similarly, jewellery businesses can also make their sourcing of diamonds and gemstones more ethical by growing them in a lab or obtaining them from responsible and eco-friendly suppliers.
Sustainable Production
Jewellers are encouraged to produce their jewellery in small batches to minimise the waste that is sent to landfill. They can produce lab-grown diamonds in laboratories using advanced technologies to match the same properties of the traditionally-mined diamonds. Further, they can prioritise their production machinery and processes that use renewable energy rather than rely on fossil fuels. These initiatives represent just a few examples of green production, with many more sustainable practices being adopted by eco-conscious manufacturers in their production processes.
Why is Choosing Sustainable Jewellery Necessary?
We have already discussed the harmful effects that mining brings upon habitats and ecosystems on our planet, but there are unfortunately many more negative consequences of manufacturing jewellery using traditional methods for mass production.
Highly energy inefficient
The production process of refining metals like gold, silver and platinum involves large amounts of energy, heavy machinery, significant amount of water, and also releases harmful gases. You may sometimes question the pricing of diamond jewellery in particular, but take a popular piece of jewellery, such as a floating diamond necklace; mining a single carat of diamond for this item can use over 2,000 litres of water – that’s more than the average person consumes in an entire year!
Waste Production
Extracting metals from the earth’s core is far from an efficient process. To obtain a small amount of metal, miners are required to move tons of heavy and dense rock from the earth’s surface. Once extracted, the remaining rock and ore are left unused. To put that into perspective, to produce a single gold ring, up to 25 tons of mining waste is produced as a result.
Is Sustainable Jewellery Worth The Investment?
For many of us, moving from traditionally manufactured jewellery to more sustainable alternatives can also mean making a greater financial commitment. However, what is it that causes sustainable jewellery to come with a higher price tag?
- Firstly, sustainable jewellery manufacturers are required to use certified materials that are sourced ethically and responsibly. Jewelry certified by Fairmined Gold is sustainable since its origins are traceable across every stage of its manufacturing process. This allows suppliers to ensure that every process involved in the journey is sustainable and supports gender equality and fair pay.
- Secondly, it’s no secret that the manufacture of sustainable jewellery items is still a small-scale production, inevitably making costs significantly higher. However, small-scale jewellery production ensures that only what is needed is produced, keeping excess materials and waste to a minimum.
- Finally, creating sustainable jewellery pieces with recycled metals significantly improves their durability, as these constructed metals are more resistant to rust and tarnishing. It’s also important to consider the jewellery’s lasting value. Sustainable jewellery pieces often retain their value better over time since they’re produced with high-quality materials and naturally sourced gemstones.
Investing in sustainable jewellery means more than simply buying for aesthetics and value. As consumers become increasingly aware of sustainable sourcing and the environmental implications of traditional mining methods, choosing sustainable jewellery is likely to become a non-negotiable part of future purchasing decisions. So, why not start making more conscious choices now?
