Sustainability
My sustainability journey
Little Imp has made every effort from the beginning to be as sustainable as possible, not because people were crying out for eco-friendly jewellery particularly, at least, not that I was aware of, but because it just seemed like the right thing to do. In fact, when Little Imp first started 2013, there was very little in the information to be found regarding sustainability in jewellery making, let alone an awareness amongst the general population that there was a need for it.
For a number of years I was quietly going about my business making jewellery with recycled silver and using the greenest bench practise I could. It’s funny to think now that it quite literally never occurred to me that I should be telling people about the fact that the jewellery was sustainably made. I would spend hours on the internet and on the phone trying to source chains, findings and bouillon that were recycled. It was a frustrating process to say the least. I might be able to find recycled bullion with one supplier, but then their loose chains or findings were manufactured using virgin silver, which meant trying to source these items elsewhere. At the time, none of the suppliers were really advertising whether their metals were recycled or not so it really was a matter of picking up the phone and sometimes they just thought you were mad.
The same was true of packaging. Ooohweee, I mean I spent HOURS trying to find the best possible packaging and shipping materials before settling on something- albeit still not exactly what I was looking for. This is still very much a work in progress as it has been difficult to find eco-friendly packaging that is both attractive, sustainable and will sufficiently protect the jewellery in transit. There are a few good companies out there creating sustainable jewellery packaging, but none of them has really quite achieved exactly what I am looking for. So, until it is affordable for me to have fully bespoke packaging, wherein we can have exactly what we want, it will always be a bit of a compromise.
Somewhere around 2016, I really started to be aware of more and more independent jewellers taking about their eco-credentials and it suddenly hit home, “Sheesh, you really ought to be telling people about this, people want to know.” Now look, I am far from perfect, and I’m genuinely not trying to be sanctimonious, but I really do make every effort to keep things in check. I have dispensed with most of the chemicals that are routinely used in making jewellery and replaced them with eco-friendly alternatives. I use water based polishing compounds rather than those made with bovine fat, which is the industry standard and I only use recycled metals and recycle all my scrap for further use- nothing is wasted. I use boxes made from recycled cardboard for both my packaging and my shipping, my jewellery pouches are re-usable and made from organic cotton. All of the printed materials I use are printed on recycled paper and orders are packed with recycled tissue paper- even the tape and labels are made from recycled paper! All of the paper in the office is re-used and recycled once it is past being re-used and because the studio is only a short walk from my house. And because all of my jewellery is handmade to order, there is no overproduction. Everything is handmade here in my little Studio in North Hertfordshire, and as Little Imp grows, I have every intention of keeping production in-house to minimise our impact.
So, that’s just a little overview of my journey into sustainability. I know that there is more for me to learn and plenty of room to grow, but the important thing is to make the effort and keep moving forward. Imagine if large organisations took the time to investigate what alternatives would be less impactful on the environment instead of doing what is financially most expedient? Something to think about when you are doing your shopping, eh?
