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LAIBACH
ETHICAL JEWELLERY MAIN HOME »VEG*N
INSCRIBED HOME
Some
of the Principles behind our Vegan and Vegetarian Inscribed Jewellery
Collection
Only
recycled precious metals and not directly mined and therefore
no further displacement of fragile eco-systems
Locally-gathered surface stones
Cruelty-free and suitable for vegans
and vegetarians 15% of profits donated to wildlife / conservation and re-naturing
A genuine approach to chemical-hazard-free
crafting
No electroplating
Carbon-inverted targets (Dedicated
to putting more back into nature than taking from it)
Every detail handmade by Laibach
No greenwash answers to customer
questions
Purely earth-friendly
No newly-mined gems ... ever.
Kerstin Laibach never
uses newly mined metals or precious stones - only recycled.
(There is already enough previously
mined gold to be recycled indefinitely - and Laibach only
uses recycled ...
What
is the difference between recycled gold and new-mined gold?)
If you are a responsible
vegan / vegetarian you will no doubt recognise that recycling
old gold means no habitat destruction. Atelier Laibach will never
use any form of new-mined gold and that includes Fairtrade Fairmined
gold. Fairtrade gold is new-mined gold which is being hailed as
"green", "environmentally friendly" and "ethical".
To describe any form of habitat-displacing new-mined gold in jewellery
as ethical and green is contradictory and misleading, and perhaps
the most blatant example of greenwashing to date. There is more
than enough recycled gold available to make jewellery indefinitely
and there is no valid argument to support the backwards move from
recycled to mined gold, a deplorable trend which Fairtrade appear
to have triggered as many former "ethical" jewellery
makers who previously used recycled have now jumped on the Fairtrade
mined gold bandwagon. It seems the result is more gold
being mined than previously to feed the demand. We wonder how
can moving from recycled to mined be considered ethical and environmentally
beneficial?
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's fully
recyclable or renewable. (Even if a piece ended its days buried
as landfill waste, its component parts are all natural and harmless
to the environmement.)
Kerstin Laibach does
not use findings (factory-made connectors or chains); and make
every aspect of a piece by hand, including chains and closing
mechanisms to ensure absolute vegan and environmental integrity
- and also to maintain a refined and lasting quality to our pieces
for generations.
Our principles mean
we give a completely honest answer about any ethical question
relating to vegan requirements. We prefer to explain the more
essential moral aspects of our creation process rather than hide
any anomalies by simply not mentioning it ... We intend to offer
our designs to the strictest vegan with a clear conscience. So,
please let us know if you have any essential requirements regarding
the construction of your piece when ordering*.
As with all Laibach
jewellery, fifteen percent of profits is awarded to our chosen
conservation and wildlife protection projects. See
how we help.
For a full description
of our principles please see:
Atelier
Laibach Principles - A Slow, Holistic Approach
*Vegan
Integrity
Based on the global standard definition of orthodox veganism,
none of our jewellery contains any animal-derivatives. However,
we endeavour to create a work environment which goes a step further.
To the very best of our knowledge and thorough research, our workshop
tools used to construct our pieces do not contain any animal derivatives.
However, after construction, polishing your piece might raise
a moral issue for a small number of vegan customers. Although
all our other polishing and buffing wheels are made of sisal or
cotton - and we use specially obtained animal fat free polishing
paste - there is an essential goldsmith's preparatory polishing
wheel which contains felt. This specifically prepares the foundation
for a traditional glass finish to larger areas of a completed
gold or silver piece (i.e. ring interiors). There is no direct
non-felt alternative available for this process; however we are
currently experimenting with our own non-felt alternatives. With
adaptation to a finished Laibach piece we are able to cater for
the exact ethical polishing needs of ultra-strict vegans by offering
alternative finishes, thus avoiding the use of a felt bufff.
Therefore, if you require an alternative finish appropriate to
your needs please contact us - or for more information see
our Vegan Information Page
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