Sustainable jewelry as a force for good

 

Ethical jewelry brands are a good place to start.

The vocabulary of ‘greenness’ has become so inflated over the past decade that it’s lost its value. As a consumer, my eyes glaze over at every new sustainability-related buzz word (does anyone believe buying water in a plastic bottle is “smart” or “pure?”). As a business owner, I’m as loathe to contribute to the gyre of empty eco-speak as I am to add the Pacific trash vortex.

People want authenticity and transparency. Myriad consumer surveys show that people are increasingly interested in doing the right thing when we take out our wallets; more and more, it’s a company’s walk, not their talk, that matters. 

Long before we started handcrafting jewelry, Danielle and I did things the so-called “hard way.” We recycled. We composted. We gave up eating meat. We questioned every item that came into our home: Was it necessary? Was it meaningful? Did it harm people or the earth in its making?

Nearly twenty-five years later, that’s still how we live, and it’s how we run our Vancouver jewelry studio. Certainly, we don’t do it so we can brag about it. We do it because it makes us feel good. It slows us down. It enriches our lives.

One of the most affirming and rewarding things that have happened to Pyrrha is the advent of an organization called B Corporation. A non-profit that grants certification to companies that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, B Corp is at the vanguard of a global movement to redefine success in business.

Our membership requires adherence to the sorts of green practices you might expect — recycling; carbon neutrality; sustainably handcrafting our jewelry with recycled metals — but also to ethical practices you might not: an extended benefits plan for all employees; paid days off for staff to volunteer for charities of their choice. Our membership requires adherence to the sorts of green practices you might expect — recycling; carbon neutrality; sustainably handcrafting our jewelry with recycled metals — but also to ethical practices you might not: an extended benefits plan for all employees; paid days off for staff to volunteer for charities of their choice. We thought our standards were high, until we set out to qualify for B Corp and discovered we canalways dig deeper. We thought our standards were high, until we set out to qualify for B Corp and discovered we can always dig deeper.

B Corp isn’t an elite club. It’s a supportive community of nearly 3,500 purpose-driven businesses (Pyrrha is one of only 11 certified jewelry companies in the world) that put people and the planet above profits at all costs. It’s work and it’s joy, and we’re so proud to be part of it.

 

Wade