I've championed bronze as jewelry as an alternative to gold for a long time. Bronze jewelry is an affordable way to get the gorgeous look of gold without the price tag or the social/environmental impact.
But many of my bridal clients still want gold.
I get it, I really do. Wearability is the most important factor when it comes to something you are going to have on every day for the rest of your life. So if you know your skin reacts to bronze and you dont want to deal with polishing it as often, gold makes sense.
I'm so, SO excited to share that I've found an incredible NGO that supplies sustainably sourced gold!
What is Ethically Sourced Gold?
1. 3rd Party Certified - Responsibly sourced gold comes from Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining (ASM) that have been certified and annually audited by nonprofit Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM)
2. Traceable Supply Chain - Sustainable gold can be traced from mine to market, audited by SCS Global Services. This means knowing if there are links to conflict situations, child labor, gender inequality anywhere along the supply chain.
3. Environmentally Responsible Practices - World leading standards with a focus on reducing pollution of waterways, lowering environmental impact, and chemical handling safety/reduction.
4. Community Investment - For every gram of gold that is sold, on top of being paid the fair cost of gold, miners additionally receive a premium. This premium is a transparent investment in the social, economic and environmentally sustainable development of miners, their families, workers and the community.
Jewelry You Can Feel Good About Wearing
By choosing environmentally sound sources like this, we support miners who are being paid fairly for their work and mines who are making responsible and conscious decisions about their environmental impact.
We can collectively make an impact by creating a demand for sustainably sourced gold and making responsibly mined gold the standard and not the exception.
Sustainable Bridal and Fine Jewelry
Iron Oxide is now offering sustainably sourced gold for all of my bridal designs and custom work clients.
You can also request any piece from the current Iron Oxide collection in ethical gold. We can make any piece in 14k yellow gold or 14k white gold!
Collective Momentum
If you're curious to learn more about sustainably sourced gold, or are a jeweler and want to work with it yourself, get in touch with me! I'm happy to answer any questions.
By working together, sharing our resources, cooperating instead of competing, we can create a positive impact with our buying choices and create the world we want to live in.