It's important when working with a material such as acrylic perspex to make acrylic earrings and other perspex pieces, to recognise that there is a responsibility to lessen the impact on the environment as much as possible.
This can be done in a number of ways:
- Decrease wastage: Both in laser cut offcuts and also the batch production. It's better to underproduce a laser cut batch of acrylic jewellery and then make more, rather than over produce and have pieces knocking around that are just not selling.
This is why I am committed to in house, small batch production using my own laser cutter. Also many of my larger statement pieces are made to order, which again reduces the potential of wastage.
I also ensure I use every last piece of the acrylic possible before it heads off to recycling. The majority of my stud packs are made from the negative space of larger pieces.
- Increase the longevity of a piece: My perspex acrylic jewellery pieces are made to be easily wearable and to last. I test each design to check that it's comfortable. The last thing you need is an acrylic earring stabbing you in the face when you are dancing. If you lose an earring, I am happy to replace singles to make up the pair again so they don't become redundant.
Importantly, if you have a 1 layer Perspex jewellery piece or cake topper (Not Mirror) that doesn't involve any glueing together of pieces - if for some reason you no longer want it, send it back to me for recycling and I will give you a discount off your next pair of acrylic earrings, acrylic jewellery piece or cake topper.
- Recycling - Perspex acrylic can be recycled. I've explored a couple of ways to do this from in house acrylic sheet reforming to sending any tiny pieces of perspex that can't be made into anything else down to a large acrylic recycling plant twice a year. I currently favour the recycling plant over in house reforming as my main method for recycling laser cut offcuts as I don't have sufficient space to set up in house at the moment.
- Suppliers: I source the bulk of my acrylic perspex material from a supplier that is just over 30 minutes away from my studio, reducing the delivery milage. In the vast majority of cases, for my acrylic earrings, acrylic necklaces and other acrylic jewellery pieces, I use Perspex which is a premium brand of sheet acrylic which can be recycled and also contains a proportion of recycled material in the sheets.
Any wood that I use is FSC accredited and I also have a range of Bamboo sustainable jewellery. Bamboo is a great material for those looking for ethical jewellery as it is one of the fastest growing plant sources that doesn't require replanting or aggressive fertilisation. Bamboo is a great material for those that prefer more natural looking eco jewellery pieces and will often be found as a staple material amongst sustainable jewellery brands. Have a look at my Bamboo collection in my shop to see the beautiful natural quality of the bamboo grain.
- Packaging: All my jewellery packaging is either recycled or recyclable. At the moment the only bits that are not recyclable is any bubble wrap or small plastic sealable bags. ALL of my bubblewrap is reused from packages I have received. I never buy it in new. The same goes for any plastic sealable baggies, these are reused from when I am sent jewellery making supplies and are never bought in.
The packing tape, stickers, cellophane envelops and tissue paper are all from an eco packaging supplier specialising in recycled, recyclable and compostable packaging and can be thrown strait into the recycling bin, along with the packing boxes and padded envelope I send things out it. As much as I would love fancier packaging, the commitment to being a better sustainable jewellery brand has so far trumped the fancier options.
My acrylic earrings and acrylic necklace backing cards are all made in house from cardboard packing that I have hoarded, I am truly the Gollum of cardboard. I make all acrylic earring and acrylic necklace backing cards up as needed in small batches.
Sustainability is an ongoing journey, but environmental impact is always one of the key pillars to any business decisions I make.
Waste is a design choice.