What Is Sustainable And Ethical Jewellery
Sustainable and ethical jewelry means transparent and responsible sourcing practices and use of sustainable materials. Elleca jewellery tries to have minimal impact on the environment, our pieces are made from 80% recycled silver. Our policy is strictly fair trade, where by our craftsmen and women get to decide their own wages.
Picking the right jewellery has the power to transform the look and feel of your entire outfit. How often do we stop to think about how our jewellery was made? – Where did the materials come from? Whose hands has it touched? What environment was it made in? Whose lives has it affected? How long is the jewellery going to last.
We’ve all been disappointed at how quickly our poorly made costume jewellery pieces tarnish or turn our fingers green. Unfortunately, the fast fashion industry has brought about a culture of repeatedly buying poorly-made ‘trendy’ jewellery that is thrown out after a few wears, wasting resources and exposing ourselves and the producers to toxic materials along the way.
CHOOSE THE MOST SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS POSSIBLE
Silver can easily be melted and reformed into a new piece of jewelry. It doesn’t lose it's qualities when melted down and reused—which is great from both an environmental and financial standpoint. Here at Elleca we buy old silver pieces from antique stores in Kenya to reuse the silver for our pieces. Recycled silver jewelry is better for the environment because it doesn’t require mining. It doesn’t require the use of cyanide solvents to separate it. It isn’t associated with damaging the environment or polluting nearby waters. It also gives a second life to that antique brooch or damaged necklace so they’re not fated to just add to growing solid waste streams. It allows us to see precious metals as exactly that: precious. It gives silver the chance to shine again and teaches us that we shouldn’t be so cavalier in our treatment of these materials.
Ethically-Sourced Gems
We love our planet 🌍 and the people in it. ♥️ It's important for us at Elleca to know the origins of our gemstones. The story behind a gemstone is just as important as the color and size. Knowing that the stone was sustainably and ethically mined in a way that added value to the lives of the people involved without damaging the environment, is what makes it special. As it’s sometimes hard to find recycled gems, ethically-sourced gems are the second best option. Our Aquamarine gemstones are mined by an all women mine in zimbabwe https://www.zimbaqua.com/ It is important for us at Elleca to make sure there are fair trade prices for our gemstones. We prefer to buy our gemstones directly from known miners and mines in order to cut out the middlemen that would usually put the miner at a disadvantage, but forcing them to take very low market prices.