LAIBACH ETHICAL JEWELLERY MAIN HOME »VEG*N INSCRIBED HOME

The first of its kind, Kerstin Laibach's pioneering "bio" vegan ethics ensure the purest ecological path possible throughout every aspect of hand-forged jewellery work.

"No life or environments should suffer for the sake of jewellery... This principle sets the foundations of goldsmith Kerstin Laibach's unique ethos covering her entire collections, her workbench tools and crafting processes. In every last detail, the Laibach atelier workshop in the Black Forest, Germany and workbench in England is meticulously tuned to ensure that absolutely no crafting processes, or parts used, are detrimental to animals or the environment ... and this also means nothing new-mined. A professional goldsmith with a thoroughly genuine bio-vegan, cruelty-free ethos had not previously been realised until the founding of Laibach atelier; brought about through close mentoring by the long-established nonprofit resource VeggieGlobal.com. Join us in celebrating Kerstin Laibach's beautiful pieces, which by true nature, celebrates hope for an earth and animal-kind future in all aspects of jewellery craft." VeggieGlobal.com

Vegan Inscribed by Kerstin Laibach

Complete Vegan Integrity

Besides the obvious omission of any animal based derivatives in Laibach's vegan friendly jewellery, it is also important to recognise it is made only from recycled materials and not from new-mined, which destroys or displace pristine environments ... This also means no fair-trade gold, fair-trade platinum or fair-trade silver either, which is mined ... and of course no new-mined diamonds or other gemstones ... only antique.
The genuine ethical choice for vegans and vegetarians or anyone with a green conscience is lasting jewellery that strictly adheres to ecologically sound principles. Therefore Laibach jewellery is not just made from recycled but it is also entirely earth friendly (also not made with hazardous chemicals etc.) ... of which VeggieGlobal and Looking-Glass have created the term called "thrucycling"... a huge step beyond recycling and upcycling . (Thrucycling describes an item that is made from earth friendly materials and will not adversly pollute the earth if ever discarded.)
Kerstin Laibach's goldsmiths workbench is a unique vegan environment developed through extensive research, adjustments and even re-invention of some traditional jewellery makers tools and processes. In Kerstin Laibach's atelier / gallery there is genuine feeling of positive karma attached to the design and crafting of a piece of jewellery - knowing that end result is as truly earth-kind as it possibly can be.

Above: Laibach Leaf Ring of which the leaf veins subtly spell the word "vegan"

What is the difference between recycled gold and new-mined gold?

As with all Laibach jewellery, fifteen percent of profits is awarded to Kerstin Laibach's chosen conservation and wildlife protection projects.
See how Laibach helps.

Because all Kerstin Laibach jewellery designs are suitable for vegans and vegetarians, this also means Kerstin's Wedding and Partnership Rings.
Please visit Kerstin Laibach's main site to view all the Laibach collections, restoration services and more.

Checklist
(This Laibach Principles checklist is goverened by VeggieGlobal.com)

Kerstin Laibach makes every last detail of her jewellery. Because nothing is factory cast or contains ready-made parts (called findings), all aspects of a Laibach piece can be "ethically" accounted for; how it was made, what it was made with and exactly what it contains ... from start to finish.

There are many aspects of jewellery making which involve animal slaughter ... some obvious and others far less so.

First ... some of the obvious animal parts Kerstin Laibach atelier does not use are:

• Pearl.
• Coral.
• Leather.
• Snake.
• Lizard.
• Elephant Hair.
• Ivory.
• Feathers.
• Horn.
• Bone.
• Porcupine Quill.
• Shell.
• Any other product derived from animals.

The Kerstin Laibach atelier also does not use these less realised habitat destroying/damaging ingredients and animal-derived ingredients, tools and processes::

• No newly-mined gold, silver, platinum, paladium, precious or semi-precious gems or any other newly extracted metal or stone which destroys ecosystems and habitat including commercialy harvested amber.
• No cuttlefish (Cuttlebone casting is commonly used to create patterns in jewellery making).
• No ebony or any other woods from endangered forests.
• No shellac.
• No leather, felt* and hair/fur based tools. (Laibach has replaced these with own-made non-leather / non-felt alternatives.)
• No egg (for patina effects)
• No animal fat polishing paste. (VeggieGlobal specially sourced an alternative polishing paste without animal derivatives. Laibach atelier is the first goldsmith workshop to use this ... Some other vegan-based jewellery makers are now beginning to follow this principle)**
• No crafting plastics (neither new or recycled) (i.e. microplastic material which damages ocean-life and animals dependent on it)
• No commercial modelling clays which include PVC (polyvinyl chloride). Such manufactured clays leach plasticizers and their constituent chemicals, which upon disposal pollute land and marine environments (ingested by various species) and thus are not safely biodegradable. PVC within such clays is not industrially recovered for recycling.*
• No bioresin. Although the resin itself is sourced from plant materials, the hardener contains highly hazardous isocyanates. The effects of this irritant may be blocked when working with the resin, but the causative agent remains in the non-reusable material, subsequently becoming an environmental hazard upon disposal.*
• No type of product which is animal tested, or product containing hazardous chemicals which can damage the environment.

*Very often, even with jewellery making, the best environmental solution can be to stick to a natural / traditional path with a few environmental tweaks instead of contrivances misleadingly marketed as a greener choice.
**See here for information on strict vegan polishing

Vegan / Vegetarian ... The Passion Behind All Laibach Pieces

Although being purely vegan, there is absolutely no compromise in design, elegance, durability or longevity throughout Kerstin Laibach's entire portfolio of handmade jewellery pieces. Crafting with a clear moral purpose, and with the planet's wildlife at the forefront of her creative impetus, Kerstin's environmentally-tuned innovations reach beyond the predictable boundaries of jewellery-craft. The result is a holistically hand-forged heirloom for you or your loved one to cherish forever and which can be worn always with a clear conscience.

Vegan / Vegetarian inscribed Collection

With Laibach's Vegan / Vegetarian Inscribed Collection, your ethical preference can be spelt out in words or letters on a jewellery piece either loudly, using bold lettering, or by subtly drawing conversation to your piece as friends admire the intricate design pattern spelling out your chosen word. Whichever way, Kerstin Laibach can craft your piece for either preference ... bold or subtle.
The pieces displayed in Kerstin Laibach's Veg*n Inscribed Collections pages are based on recycled precious metal variants - with or without lab-created or antique diamonds. Each piece is bespoke and Kerstin can offer design variations to your wishes. If you don't see exactly what you wish for please get in touch and Kerstin will personally do her best to help.
Necklaces, pendants, pins, earrings, rings and bracelets can be inscribed or embossed with various wordings or lettering. Please see Laibach atelier Prices and Options page for more details.

More Information

Please see this page regarding Laibach's careful approach and alternatives to ensure you will be completely satisfied with the bio-vegan (organic-vegan) processes throughout the commissioning of your Laibach piece.