Green Jewelry News

February, 2010
Vol. 3: No. 1

Green Jewelry News

Greetings!

The Green Jewelry Movement is growing by leaps and bounds in 2010 and this issue has updates from across the country and overseas, plus news about exciting designs, exhibitions, and more.

Thank you for everything you do to make the world a better place.

Christine Dhein
Green Jewelry Educator

Fair Trade Gemstones in Tucson
An Open Forum on Eco, Ethical, and Fair Trade

On Friday, February 5, 2010 The American Gem Trade Association (AGTA) hosted an seminar at the at the AGTA GemFairTM Tucson, AZ that focused on eco, ethical, and fair trade gemstones in an open town hall format.

Bill Gallagher, CEO of Lori Bonn Design, Inc., facilitated the event that was attended by a group 25 people representing diverse sectors of the industry including students, emerging and established designers, manufacturers, and gem dealers. Participants included Eric Braunwart, Marc Choyt, Tom Cushman, Christine Dhein, Peggy Jo Donahue, Greg Valerio, and others, many of whom have been key players in the Madison Dialogue, an initiative promoting sustainable development and verified sourcing of responsible gold, diamonds and gemstones.

This forum looked at the issues, challenges and opportunities for eco, ethical, and fair trade gemstones. Some participants voiced frustration regarding the lack of information about how to get started sourcing fair trade gemstones. For those with more experience, the most common challenges and issues included transparency, no agreement on standards, lack of third-party verification, limited stone choices and difficulty sourcing fair trade, semi-precious stones at lower price points. Despite the challenges, the discussion included the possibility of rapid, market-driven changes and the vital role of education. Greg Valerio, a champion of fair trade gold in the UK, stated "[I am] leaving Tuscon Gem Fair thinking a fair trade gemstone is a real possibility. The Jewellery revolution turns again."

Ideas for a Fair Trade Future
Survey data was collected from participants at the forum and tabulated by Susan Kingsley, of Ethical Metalsmiths, in order to create an on-line resource directory that will continue to grow with the movement. Look for more details about the directory in the next issue of GJN. Other ideas to grow the movement that came out of this session include the creation of introductory educational information for jewelers, designers, gem suppliers and others on how to get started sourcing fair trade gems. The working title of this resource is First Steps on the Road to Fair Trade Jewelry. To receive updates on progress after the forum, join the Madison Dialogue.

Green Jewelry in Australia
Part 1
The Green Jewellery & Small Objects Symposium Report

Left: Christine Dhein and Cathy Salter
Right: Green Jewellery Symposium panelists Rebecca Ward, Bibi Locke
and Cathy Salter

The Green Jewellery Movement is alive and well in Australia! Read about the Green Jewellery Symposium in Brisbane, Australia and look for a report on Christine Dhein's Green Studio Practices class down under in the next issue.

The Green Jewellery & Small Objects Symposium, held November 13, 2009 at Griffith University Queensland College of Art, was attended by over 50 enthusiastic jewellers, designers, students and educators and was organized by Elizabeth Shaw, Head of the Jewellery & Small Objects Department. Four speakers presented on a variety of topics within the Green Jewellery Movement including Rebecca Ward, Bibi Locke, Cathy Salter and Christine Dhein. The presenters discussed the enviornmental impact and origin of materials used to make jewellery. Several speakers also considered the message conveyed by choice of materials.

Left: Bombay Shards Necklace in recycled glass and sterling by Rebecca Ward
Right: Longshore Drifter Necklace in sterling and pebbles by Rebecca Ward

Rebecca Ward is a studio jeweller who "tastefully transforms trash" such as glass collected from demolition yards and beaches, vinyl records, and other recycled materials to create jewelry with an eco-aesthetic. She shared the advantages of working with recycled materials including, finding materials and lower materials costs. She also discussed several challenges, including a lack of consistent supply, lower perceived value, cost of jewelry shifting from materials to design and manufacture, and the challenge of designing a wearable piece of jewelry from found objects. She also warned the audience to be aware of the difference between recycled and repurposed materials. As she explained, recycled materials have been discarded after being used for their original purpose, then collected, transformed and reused in a new form. Recycling gives materials a new life before going to the landfill. Repurposed materials are often purchased new from the manufacturer and labeled "repurposed" because they are being used for something other than the original intended purpose. Unfortunately, these types of "repurposed" items have the same carbon footprint as newly manufactured materials.

Top: Jewellery by Bibi Locke in recycled stainless steel and copper
Bottom: Brooch by Marian Hosking in sterling silver

Bibi Locke, a jeweller and graduate student at Griffith University presented her thesis, The Tarnished Legacy of Silver: Paradox in Australian Jewellery which discussed environmental themes in the work of Marian Hosking, one of Australia's most innovative, renowned designers. Bibi questioned Hosking's use of sterling, potentially from newly mined sources, and suggested that this choice of materials introduces complex issues to the work, which have been previously unexamined.

Jewellery by Cathy Salter in recycled copper and anodized aluminum

Cathy Salter, founder of Kit and Caboodle and ecojeweller.org, and a recent graduate from Curtin came from Perth to share her research about the problems in the jewelry supply chain and sourcing of ethical and environmentally sensitive materials in Australia. Cathy has been active in contacting suppliers across Australia to ask them to provide products with recycled metal content. Just days before Cathly's lecture, A&E Metals Merchants, the primary metals supplier for many Australian jewellers, announced that 100% of the metal content in their precious metal alloys comes from recycled sources.

Christine Dhein gave the final presentation, The Greening of American Adornment which offered a brief history of the green jewellery movement in America over the last decade. Geared toward jewellers and makers, the bulk of the information focused on how to implement eco-friendly studio practices in the jewellery workshop. Some of the information presented can be found in Christine's article, Reduce Environmental Impact with Green Bench Practices.

Tips from our Readers
Proper Pickle Disposal in the East Bay

Tiny Thoughts Necklace, enameled copper by Isabelle Eyman

Isabelle Eyman creates personal, custom pieces for people so they don't clog up their jewelry boxes with unused jewelry. She knows how important a special piece of jewelry can be and states "I have pieces I have worn for 10 + years...and still wear them because they are meaningful to me." Recently she started making custom, enameled Tiny Thoughts Necklaces. Customers can order custom pieces with words of intention or names of children on them.

Isabelle also offers this information on pickle disposal for readers in the Alameda/East Bay area of California:

"This weekend I met someone who worked for East Bay Municipal Utility District...and I asked him what was the best way to dispose of the pickle that we accumulate as jewelers. After some discussion, he said that it is best to go to the Alameda Household Hazardous Waste Center and drop it off there.

This is for those that are in the East Bay, but the concept is the same: by dumping it down the drain, the copper, which is considered a toxic heavy metal when it enters the water supply, truly gets lost and is non reclaimable. By depositing at the Hazardous waste facility, it is reclaimable.

I have left my pickle on and let all of the water evaporate out, and then collected the crystals. The crystals can also be then be taken to hazardous waste.

I know Christine already sent something out about pickle disposal, (see Proper Disposal of Studio Chemicals) but I wanted to send this information because I could not remember all of the details myself and thought some of your other readers could use a refresher.

If anyone is interested in contacting the man I spoke with, his name is David McMullen, Senior Wastewater Control Inspector, and he can be reached at 510-385-6158."
-Isabelle Eyman
Emeryville, CA

Find a drop off facility in your area by searching the internet for "household hazardous waste" and the name of your town.

Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter and learn more about the Green Jewelry Movement. Check out this month's events, and send this newsletter to a friend to help spread the word about using recycled and ethically sourced jewelry materials along with eco-friendly studio practices.

Sincerely,

Christine Dhein

In This Issue

Fair Trade Gemstones in Tucson

Green Jewellery in Australia - Part 1

Tips from Our Readers

Green Jewelry Archives
Now Available On-Line!