Type ‘sustainable fashion’ into TikTok’s hashtag section and you’ll be confronted with just shy of a million hits. Enter ‘sustainable jewellery’ and just over 11,000 related videos will appear.
Sustainably crafted jewellery hasn’t quite garnered the same attention as sustainable fashion. There are a few reasons why this might be the case. Firstly, jewellery is, generally speaking, sustainable by nature. The pieces that you wear daily should stand the test of time in your collection and, provided they’re constructed from quality materials, you’ll never throw them away. Jewellery also falls into the heirloom category, meaning particularly special or valuable pieces are passed down from ancestors and remain in the family.
Fast fashion takes the number one spot for sustainability influencers fighting the good fight for the planet, yet less is said about the nature of cheaply made jewels.
Quality is of paramount importance to jewellery creation. According to Statista, in Great Britain, an estimated 36,600 people spent £500 or more on jewellery in the previous 12 months in 2020. Consumers like to invest in valuable jewels to keep forever.
We’re all guilty of falling prey to Topshop Freedom’s bohemian plated rings that turned your fingers an ominous shade of blue-back back in the day. Yet this was never a long-term solution and now we need to shift the focus onto mindfully made jewellery.
Cue upcycled jewellery, which flies the flag for transparent production chains in the accessories sphere.
Popular brands such as Missoma, Monica Vinader and Rachel Jackson incorporated recycled metals such as gold and silver into their collections, making for considered, luxurious pieces to wear on the regular.
The consumption of recycled jewellery has significant social and environmental advantages. The jewellery industry is founded upon the mining of precious metals and gemstones, a widescale practice that causes mass environmental damage including deforestation, soil erosion and loss of biodiversity.
According to sustainable jewellery brand Scéona, over 180 million tonnes of toxic waste is dumped from jewellery mines every year and it takes 20 tonnes of waste to produce a single gold ring. Recycled jewellery doesn’t contribute to this damage and can, in fact, minimise it as it uses discarded materials to construct new pieces.
So, it’s time to get up to speed with the best labels that champion recycled jewellery. Shop the edit below and expand your brand vocabulary with a helping hand from those making a change.
Missoma
Price: ££
Missoma has garnered a cult following due to its uber-wearable, demi-fine designs adorned on all adornments, from pearl necklaces to chunky earrings. The brand champions upcycling in the jewellery sphere and in 2022, launched The Deadstock Project in collaboration with the MA Design: Ceramics Furniture Jewellery course at Central Saint Martins.
Missoma donated £300,000 worth of its deadstock to the prolific arts college, which students then upcycled the pieces into brand-new designs. 100 per cent of the label’s new silver and gold vermeil collections are made from recycled silver and Missoma is a proud member of the Responsible Jewellery Council.
Buy now, Missoma
Monica Vinader
Price: ££
Monica Vinader is another favourite stop on the high street. The brand solely uses 100 per cent recycled gold and sterling silver, which in turn helps to reduce its overall emissions by two-thirds. All diamonds used are responsibly sourced, as stated on the brand’s website which includes pages dedicated to their sustainability reports and transparent production chain.
On the website, you’ll find elegant, timeless designs made for layering such as pendant necklaces and gemstone stacker rings.
Buy now, Monica Vinader
Dower & Hall
Price: £-££
Dower & Hall has pioneered the use of recycled metals in its designs since the brand’s inception in 1990. Recycled gold and silver make for mindfully crafted gems such as star-clad pendants and colourful diamond stacker rings to cherish for both men and women.
This use of recycled materials also helps to reduce the brand’s CO2 emissions and water usage. All stones from semi-precious to fine are sourced ethically and brought to life in the London studio.
Buy now, Dower & Hall
Rachel Jackson
Price: ££
Sophisticated and fun, Rachel Jackson’s designs are suitable for all ages. The designer uses certified recycled silver and gold in various designs, , such as the T-bar pendants and tourmaline amulets, in addition to lab-grown diamonds and plastic-free packaging.
Any off-cuts produced from castings in the workshops go back into the raw materials mix and are used to create another must-have item. The brand aims to eventually transition to fully recycled jewellery, a process that is very much underway.
Buy now, Rachel Jackson
Edge of Ember
Price: ££
The go-to brand of the Duchess of Sussex and other stars, Edge of Ember is one to keep on your radar. The label is dedicated to creating environmentally friendly pieces, like oblong enamelled pendants and minimalist gold hoops using lab-grown diamonds and recycled metals in their works.
The brand has taken its commitment to recycling one step further, setting up a recycling system for customers to use. Send the brand unwanted sterling silver, silver or solid gold jewels and the team will recycle it for you. In return, you’ll receive store credit - £15 for each sterling silver item and £30 for solid gold.
Buy now, Edge of Ember
Atteya
Price: ££-£££
Atteya is a sustainable brand that is dedicated to maintaining full transparency. All Atteya jewellery is locally handmade or cast in 100 per cent certified recycled precious metals in the UK. For sustainability veterans, single mine origin, fairmined and fairtrade gold is also available upon request.
Plus, five per cent of each purchase is donated to one of three selected charities, Treesisters, Coral Gardeners and Care International UK, which each tackle climate change and social injustice. Discover silver shell silhouettes, coral-inspired textures and more as part of the brand’s online offering.
Buy now, Atteya
Wolf and Zephyr
Price: ££
Conscious design is at the heart of Wold and Zephyr’s work. Recycled silver and gold are used throughout the collection and delivered in plastic-free packaging. Each step of the way is thoroughly thought through. Brand founder Tori Shay designs the pieces in the UK, which are then meticulously made in India in an ethical workshop that champions artisan craftsmanship.
Conflict-free gemstones, religious iconography and celestial motifs feature in the brand’s designs. The label is a proud member of 1% For The Planet, donating a minimum of 1 per of its annual sales to support environmental non-profit organisations such as WWFUK, Tree-Nation and Plastic-Free-Me among others.
Buy now, Wolf and Zephyr
Wilhelmina Garcia
Price: ££
Fantastical, Gen-Z-favourite designs are Wilhelmina Garcia’s bread and butter. Colour and creative motifs from bows to love hearts make for adorable gems to wear all year round. The brand’s values revolve around recycled materials from gold to silver, fair working conditions for anyone involved in the brand’s production chain, recyclable packaging and enhancing local production. Glimmering, guilt-free jewels to wear with pride.
Buy now, Wilhelmina Garcia
