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Ethics and the Jewellery Trade

Browsing the internet, it is easy to see that "ethical" or eco-jewellery can be termed as a trade which has tenuously jumped on the green bandwagon. Pouring sanctimony over jewellery-making, greened up as ethical, is potentially a contentious overstatement which we aim to keep in firm check.

Mined Gold is Not "Sustainable"

In every other industry "sustainable" means NOT using up earth's resources ... Sustainable practices such as renewable electricity means using the inexhaustible resource of wind or water instead of non-renewable coal or oil.
More and more frequently you may notice the word "sustainable" used to describe or in conjunction with jewellery makers using Fair-trade gold. Gold mining is not a sustainable earth resource. Once the gold is gone, it's gone. Therefore using the word "sustainable" to promote new-mined precious metals could be regarded a falsification. Describing sustainable precious metals should only be used in conjunction with recycling.

Atelier Laibach does not exploit or embellish the "ethical" or "recycled" term, and the merits of our service are founded on pragmatic principles. Please also note that we do NOT use NEW-MINED gold. We only use sustainable recycled gold ... a genuine environmentally acceptable choice.
What is the difference between recycled gold and new-mined gold?

The Eco Trinket Trade

Jewellery perceived as ethical in its bendy wire, seashell and shiny stone guise can often originate from either dilettante or spurious manufactured sources. This doesn't mean that such jewellery is less appreciated because of its simplicity, and some can look aesthetically appealing. But rustic, floaty appearances can often be used as a pretext to call jewellery ethical or eco-friendly when its sourcing and manufacturing methods are far from it. The semi-precious gem / "healing" stones and crystals trinket trade is part of a global market where the subsequent shifting of products, from one grey-import trade supplier to the next, often makes it impossible to trace their true ethical credentials ... if any. This leaves free reign for continual, indiscriminate digging operations in protected forests or disappearing habitats. We would like to clarify that there is no correlation between such trades and Laibach Atelier's stringent ethical business model.

Defining Recycled Jewellery

Our process of earth to earth "thrucycling" is a method of genuine recyclability and should not be confused with artisans who create novelty "recycled" jewellery from spent items such as plastics and electrical components. The contention is explained through an article published on Looking-Glass.co.uk, - a section which we have permission to reprint here:
"A lot of artists are jumping on the recycled bandwagon without really taking into consideration the long term sustainability of their creations. For example, when old electronic devices remain part of the industrial recycling process, the components are dismantled into their constituent parts and what can be recycled is processed accordingly. Even precious metals are extracted from circuit boards for recycling and reuse. Therefore, the responsible action for disposing of old plastic containers, electronic equipment or other non-organic material is to make sure it goes to the appropriate recycling centre so that it can be safely treated according to whichever renewability process or stabilizing process it requires. The likelihood of a faddish jewellery piece, for example, made from old computer circuit boards, finding its way to an electronics recycling centre after its fashionable novelty has worn off, is almost zero. Its owner will find disposing of the item bewildering, and the nearest dustbin will provide the easiest solution, thus ending up causing pollution as landfill waste. If craft-makers are going to recycle "junk" to make jewellery or other ornamental novelties, the materials they are recycling must at least be biodegradable so that the item can be disposed of safely at the end of its life without detriment to the environment ."

Labelling our jewellery as "ethical" and "sustainable" also does not mean any compromise in quality. We strictly quantify our ethical terms in relation to the accredited profession of goldsmithing, and to do so have adjusted various methods within this skilled trade to ensure a truer ethical status.
"Ethical" can also be used by prominent jewellery companies to gain ecological credibility. Again, Laibach does not use "ethical" as a loosely contrived distinction within an industry built on the foundations of environmentally questionable practices. Our clear ethical distinction demonstrates that to look amazing, jewellery doesn't actually need to include new-mined gems, new-mined metals or cause any harm or suffering to life. We show that materials and processes which displace or destroy lives and habitats - whether it is the environment or human rights abuse - are surplus to the requirements of chic design and elegance.

Our solutions ... The Path of Genuine Ecologically Sustainable Ethical Jewellery.

Ethics should not be contrived or "greenwashed" just to suit the vested interest of a business. But in a self-regulated jewellery industry such practices have become common; designed to diffuse a customer's concern about the source or making of a piece of jewellery. (More)
Jewellery business ethics must be properly substantiated to ensure guidance on a genuine ecological path to help re-stabilize earth's increasingly fragile environments.

We won't overstate eco-friendly goldsmith techniques, which traditionally have always been, then keep any non-green aspects of the process quiet. We tell you everything and explain what is realistically achievable - treading the most ecologically sound path possible while we make your piece.

We don't use fresh-mined precious metals or precious stones in our new pieces, and because we don't, we aren't required to ever justify the use of "Conflict-free" diamonds or newly mined "green", "responsible" or "fair" gold.
We never give greenwash answers to your questions. In the jewellery business the term ethical is grossly undefined and subsequently meaningless. This allows makers and sellers to contrive almost any sourcing or crafting method as "ethical". Atelier Laibach defines ethical as being sustainable; ecologically / environmentally nondestructive as much as it possibly can be, and this means that we do not use new-mined gold and other precious metals. Neither do we use new-mined gems. We do not use "Fair-trade" gold ... which is new-mined. We reject ethical embellishment or "spin" such as using the terms "green" or "ecological" gold when describing social improvements in artisanal mining.
The reality is that all raw extraction of stones and metals leave environmental scars and displaces / destroys habitats and ecosystems wherever and however it takes place. There is absolutely no process which can genuinely claim to the contrary.

At Atelier Laibach we are passionate about providing a genuine earth-friendly service and we therefore clearly explain moral discrepancies to make absolutely sure clients understand our clear principles. We make it our priority to inform you of the exact ecological nature of a Laibach piece and provide clarification of environmental projects which a percentage of its sale will benefit.

We will always describe the true recycled content of our jewellery, the packaging we use and where it comes from.
Although Laibach sources recycled gold and silver from probably a most fastidious and trustworthy supplier (which only refines "old" gold from jewellers and the dental industry), we recognise that even then the very nature of the gold recycling process means it is impossible to completely guarantee that a piece of jewellery contains 100% recycled "old" gold, silver or platinum. This is because there is always a risk of traces of new-mined gold getting mixed in with other jewellery makers bench filings and sweepings which get sent back to the refiners for recycling. There is also the risk of some jewellers putting in fresh-mined nuggets or gold ingots (easily melted down to look like scrap) into the scrap bag for recycling. We are aware of these irregularities due to being asked by customers on many occassions to make a piece from gold they have mined themselves, brought about through the increasingly popular leisure activity of tourist mining (Tourists pay a set fee for a few hours gold digging and keep what they find). We never accept these forms of gold from customers.
We emphasise the often spurious use of "100%", because no environmentally conscious jeweller should claim that all the recycled materials they use are "100%" ... but many do, whether it be the jewellery itself or the box it comes in.

EARTH TO EARTH ... THRUCYCLABLE.

We take a genuinely responsible approach to our ecological crafting processes by ensuring a continuous circle of sustainability. Our jewellery is made from recycled metals and natural surface gathered stones and at the end of the long life of a Laibach jewellery piece, it is fully recyclable, therefore sustainable and subsequently renewable. (Even if a piece ended its days buried as landfill waste, its component parts are all natural and harmless to the environmement.)

However green an ethical jeweller claims their recycling process is or how "fair-trade" their source may be, the only way in which ecological full-proofing can be achieved is if gold and precious stone mining ceases completely. That will never happen because gold is essentially the all-powerful dominant currency which our human world is built on, and countries are made richer or poorer by its transitional use. It is just unfortunate that gold also happens to be the traditional source material of artists creating fine fashion accessories ... Two completely different worlds.

In the meantime, we will continue to adjust, readjust and tighten our principles as a genuine "ethical" metalsmith; an evolving process through which we always aim to expand the boundaries of environmental thinking in the jewellery business.

We explain these moral discrepancies within the ethical jewellery hyperbole, not to gain kudos, but to simply ensure our customers that we make it our priority to inform you of the exact ecological nature of our products and packaging. When jewellery related companies claiming to be green are speaking half-truths, it only adds further tarnish to an industry already scrutinized for its ecological and sociological shortcomings. At Laibach we respect that our customers appreciate our transparency and honesty, and we would like to emphasise that we do all that is possible to make certain that your trust in us is fully warranted.

MORE INFORMATION ...

Laibach's Ecological Approach to Precious Metals
Defining Laibach's "Real" Slow / Holistic Jewellery Ethic
Laibach Principles front page
Contact and Discuss Your Piece