Sustainable Studio - Part 1
What makes Bluebell Lane a sustainable brand?
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Welcome to Part 1 of 3, in my Sustainable Studio series.
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This week I'll be sharing with you the elements that make Bluebell Lane Jewellery a sustainable brand.
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First up, packaging!
Now packaging has a pretty bad rep these days, with lots of parcels arriving with an excess of wrapping, tiny things delivered in huge boxes, or just generally covered with plastic.
Saying this, I've found that packaging was actually one of the easiest things to do sustainably. Each of my orders is packed in a cardboard mailing box, lined with acid-free tissue paper and a sprinkling of dried rose petals. Your piece of jewellery will also be wrapped in acid-free tissue paper and secured with natural twine and placed in a kraft pillow box.
Inside your delivery you will also find a little card, made from recycled t-shirts, which tells you all about Ecosilver and how to care for your new jewellery. All parcels are then secured with paper tape, and your shipping label is added which uses a water based adhesive making it compostable.
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Eco silver
Ever since I heard about Ecosilver back in 2016, I have always used this wherever possible. Each piece that I make has been made using Ecosilver, and it is currently only the findings that I use (earring hooks, stud post, butterfly backs and chains) which aren't. More on those next week though, where I'll be talking about my Eco Goals for the year ahead.
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So, what is Ecosilver and why is it better than regular Sterling Silver?
Ecosilver is recycled 925 Sterling Silver, which is made by melting down things such as scrap jewellery and medical equipment. When you buy something that has been made from recycled Silver, there has been no extra mining involved in the sourcing of the Silver.
So, as we already have a huge amount of it, Ecosilver is a sustainable and environmentally friendly way to make and wear jewellery with a clear conscience.
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Walking to work
This one is pretty easy for me as my studio is just round the corner from where I live, but this is certainly something that pleases me when I see the amount of daily traffic driving through the town each morning.
That being said, for a lot of the last year, we've all been walking to work - from our bedrooms to our kitchen tables/sofas/wherever we've found a corner in our homes that we can work from!
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Planting trees
As you may have seen at the end of last year, I planted a tree for all of the orders placed over the Green Friday weekend.
I had such a great response to this, with customers being really excited about the fact that their order was going to be making a difference.
I would absolutely love to do this again this year, and will also be having a think about other similar things I could offer, that would make purchasing through Bluebell Lane about more than just jewellery. Suggestions welcome on this!
.
So there is a little overview of what I'm currently doing to be a sustainable business. Next week will be part 2 of the Sustainable Studios series where I'll be discussing my Eco-Goals for the year ahead..
.
This week I'll be sharing with you the elements that make Bluebell Lane Jewellery a sustainable brand.
.
First up, packaging!
Now packaging has a pretty bad rep these days, with lots of parcels arriving with an excess of wrapping, tiny things delivered in huge boxes, or just generally covered with plastic.
Saying this, I've found that packaging was actually one of the easiest things to do sustainably. Each of my orders is packed in a cardboard mailing box, lined with acid-free tissue paper and a sprinkling of dried rose petals. Your piece of jewellery will also be wrapped in acid-free tissue paper and secured with natural twine and placed in a kraft pillow box.
Inside your delivery you will also find a little card, made from recycled t-shirts, which tells you all about Ecosilver and how to care for your new jewellery. All parcels are then secured with paper tape, and your shipping label is added which uses a water based adhesive making it compostable.
.
Eco silver
Ever since I heard about Ecosilver back in 2016, I have always used this wherever possible. Each piece that I make has been made using Ecosilver, and it is currently only the findings that I use (earring hooks, stud post, butterfly backs and chains) which aren't. More on those next week though, where I'll be talking about my Eco Goals for the year ahead.
.
So, what is Ecosilver and why is it better than regular Sterling Silver?
Ecosilver is recycled 925 Sterling Silver, which is made by melting down things such as scrap jewellery and medical equipment. When you buy something that has been made from recycled Silver, there has been no extra mining involved in the sourcing of the Silver.
So, as we already have a huge amount of it, Ecosilver is a sustainable and environmentally friendly way to make and wear jewellery with a clear conscience.
.
Walking to work
This one is pretty easy for me as my studio is just round the corner from where I live, but this is certainly something that pleases me when I see the amount of daily traffic driving through the town each morning.
That being said, for a lot of the last year, we've all been walking to work - from our bedrooms to our kitchen tables/sofas/wherever we've found a corner in our homes that we can work from!
.
Planting trees
As you may have seen at the end of last year, I planted a tree for all of the orders placed over the Green Friday weekend.
I had such a great response to this, with customers being really excited about the fact that their order was going to be making a difference.
I would absolutely love to do this again this year, and will also be having a think about other similar things I could offer, that would make purchasing through Bluebell Lane about more than just jewellery. Suggestions welcome on this!
.
So there is a little overview of what I'm currently doing to be a sustainable business. Next week will be part 2 of the Sustainable Studios series where I'll be discussing my Eco-Goals for the year ahead..
.
Thanks for reading!