Why Is Sustainability in Jewelry So Important?

When you buy a piece of jewelry from the store, there’s no way of knowing how the materials were sourced, what it took to assemble the piece, and the travel it took to arrive at the retailer where which it was purchased. 

Despite jewelry appearing so clean, clear, and beautiful, it is an industry plagued with issues surrounding sustainability. The methods in which materials are procured can be dirty and exploitative. The labor used to assemble these pieces can oftentimes lack morality. The transportation, procurement, and strategizing in the jewelry industry too often prioritizes profit over ethics.

Sustainability in jewelry is important for a wide variety of reasons and when you buy ethically sourced jewelry, you support a better way of doing things.

You’re Supporting Responsible Practices

Every dollar you spend is like a vote for the product or brand you’re spending on. When you decide to invest in sustainable jewelry, you’re giving more dollar power to those brands to develop, build, and support more sustainable jewelry-making.

You Minimize Environmental Impact

Jewelry-making can have a terrible environmental impact on communities if a company’s not being careful. We only have one planet and in making jewelry, we must preserve what we have and minimize the destruction that’s possible from this industry. A sustainable jewelry purchase promotes a non-destructive way of creating jewelry.

You’re Protecting Workers

The workers who have to procure the materials to make the jewelry with and who assemble are not always paid fairly, the working conditions can be subpar, and the working environment itself isn’t always safe. A sustainable jewelry operation is a lot more ethical, ensuring the workers are protected and that their rights are being respected.

You Aren’t Supporting Conflict

In jewelry, where materials are sought in the world breed greed, conflict, and exploitation. Different groups have benefited in the past, using the money generated from jewelry procurement operations to fund civil wars, military efforts, and human rights abuses. For decades, this has been the case. These days, sustainable jewelry brands are trying to do things a little differently and when you buy from these brands, you can rest assured you aren’t supporting military conflicts.

You Help Reduce Overconsumption

A lot of jewelry gets produced every year. In some households, as much as $1,600 is spent annually on jewelry. A lot of it is the sort of pieces that get worn once or a few times, they’re kept for a bit, and inevitably they end up in a landfill. They’re cheap but they don’t biodegrade. Overconsumption like this is a problem. Thankfully, more buyers want ethical jewelry and they’re willing to pay more for it.

You’re Supporting Small Businesses

When you go through an independent jewelry brand, what you often receive is more unique, ethically sourced, and artisan. You’re supporting local jewelry makers by investing in a small business jewelry brand. Fortunately, a lot of independent jewelry brands are prioritizing sustainability more than a lot of mainstream brands do.

The Quality Is Tremendous

Sustainable jewelry is one-of-a-kind beautiful. There is no less quality in sustainable jewelry compared to non-sustainable jewelry. It’s a similar price point, a similar look, and the aesthetic doesn’t differ regardless of whether you’re buying earrings, necklaces, bracelets, or rings. The quality is tremendous and what you find is often a lot more interesting to look at compared to mainstream brands that aren’t as transparent.