Sustainability and Ethics

Sustainability, community and fair wages for all are things very close to my heart. I celebrate the natural world in many of my pieces, and it's important to me that I respect the planet and communities involved in the process of creating my jewellery. I am also in my workshop most days, and have been through cancer treatment in the past, so I'm keen to keep it a safe and healthy place to be!

I've established a number of studio priorities for my business through careful research and collaboration with my suppliers, other jewellers and mentors.

The short version

• Certified 100% recycled precious metals

• Certified 100% post-consumer recycled packaging

• Ethical and responsibly sourced stones

• Reduce, reuse, recycle policy

• I choose non-toxic substances in place of chemicals where possible, and nothing except water goes down the drain

• Support for local conservation groups and charities through annual donations

Much more detail below, but if you have any questions about a particular process please let me know!

The long version

Recycled precious metals

Jewellery should be something to feel good about! I'm committed to only using 100% recycled precious metals as mining for silver and gold is hugely problematic (for the environment, human health and local communities). SCS Global Services is an international leader in third-party certification and standards development in environmental and sustainability claims according to global standards. I source my metals from a fantastic supplier who has received SCS's certification for 100% recycled content, verifying that when I buy any of their precious metals—gold, silver, platinum, and palladium—it is 100% recycled. See here for more info. This supplier is also a member of the Responsible Jewellery Council.

     

Scrap metal - reused or refined

All scrap metal in my studio is melted down and reused in some way, often melted into a small ingot and rolled out into pieces of wire or sheet. Even the silver dust from filing or sanding a piece is saved, and as I can't recycle that myself I'll send to a refiner in Toronto who can.

Certified recycled packaging

My packaging is all certified recycled material, I use 100% recycled mailers (no bubblewrap, the mailers are lined with shredded waste paper) and 100% Post-Consumer Recycled, FSC Certified material for my care cards and business cards. All can be recycled with mixed paper.

My jewellery comes in either a sturdy kraft box (100% recycled) or small linen bag - I avoid using branded boxes and bags so that they can be reused. If an item has to travel for longer than a week to reach its destination, I also place it in a biodegradable baggie with an anti-tarnish strip to ensure the item arrives looking as it should.

Environmentally and socially responsible stones

We all know about blood diamonds, but the fact is that mining for many of the gemstones and materials used in fine jewellery can come at huge environmental and humanitarian cost. Using reclaimed stones is my first preference. Beyond that I source stones from either local rockhounds (local collectors of rocks and fossils) or trusted suppliers who source their stones with the environment and local communities in mind, and I do not work with any stones if the supply chain is not transparent.

I don't work with materials like bone, ivory, pearl or coral, unless they are found items, fossilised within stone or reclaimed from heirloom jewellery, but I do have a responsible supplier for mineralised organics like petrified or opalised wood, petrified palm, and fossil coral (when the organism is long dead, but it's structure has been preserved over thousands or millions of years by minerals like chalcedony, opal, calcite, aragonite or pyrite).

Fortunately, there's also plenty of gorgeous stones to be found right here on the beaches/rivers of Vancouver Island if you know where to look - ask me about my stash of flowerstone and dallasite!

The "pickle pot" and other chemicals

The pickle pot is the acid bath jewellers use to remove oxidisation from metal after soldering, and historically it would contain vinegar to "pickle" the metal. These days most jewellers use a dry acid compound containing sodium bisulphate mixed with water, but my preference is food-safe citric acid which can be bought at most grocery stores and is non-toxic. It takes a little longer to do the job, but it works just great.

I'll carefully store used pickle (which is replaced every couple of months, and will now contain copper) and drop it off at the waste management centre to be treated. Nothing except water goes down the drain where it could potentially reach our streams, rivers, lakes or oceans.

In other areas of my studio I substitute green alternatives where I can - for example, Luxi polishing compounds (non-toxic, and do not contain animal fat unlike traditional jeweller's tripoli and rouge) and fluoride-free flux.

Community and charity support

I'm proud to support local conservation groups and charities through annual donations. More details are in item details when a piece supports a particular organisation.

Reduce, reuse, recycle

Always!

Any questions do let me know. Plus you're always welcome to set up an appointment to come by my jewellery studio in Royston, in the Comox Valley.