My ECO aware &  Sustainability promise/policy

As a Brand and as independent business I believe its important to be as eco aware and sustainable as I can be. As I say, I want to bring you luxury that doesn't cost the Earth. There can be difficulties within the industry to be able to trace everything so this is my promise to you.

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• As of July 2020 I signed up to Ecologi.com. They help to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere by planting trees. Currently I provide funding to plant 12 trees a month which removes over 1 tonne of CO2 from the atmosphere. This is one of my steps in being an ECO aware business and Brand. My aim is to become a Climate positive and ultimately a carbon neutral brand. For a brand to be carbon neutral you need to meet scope 1, scope 2 and scope 3. To understand more about what scope 1, scope 2 and scope 3 are please click here

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• I currently use post consumer and closed loop recycled golds and SMO golds. At present I am unable to purchased recycled platinum or palladium. If you request a commission in platinum or palladium, where possible I will encourage the use of recycled materials. Two companies I work with to get my metal from I have used for over 10 years and they have assured their customers that all products are responsibly sourced. The main factors for choosing recycled gold over mining is the environmental damage, CO2 emissions and chemicals still used in gold mining. Its also estimated that we have less than 18 years worth of underground gold reserves left. Today there's ben approximately 201,296 tonnes of gold mined. The CO2 emission from recycled gold compared to freshly mined gold are hugely different, 100's of times less in recycled gold compared to fresh mined. Which is why I use recycled over Fairtrade or fair mined golds. To learn more and to compare Fairmined gold and Fairmined Ecological gold please visit here.

1. Cookson gold "At Cooksongold, we want to make a precious commitment to all our customers. Our full range of gold and silver bullion products are now made using 100% recycled precious metals. All of our gold and silver sheet, wire, tube and grain will be made using 100% recycled precious metals, fully traceable and equal in quality to unrecycled precious metals.Moving forward, any gold and silver bullion you purchase from us will be 100% recycled and supplied with a card of authenticity to ensure that as the jewellery maker, you can ensure that that the pieces you make are eco-friendly. "

2. Euro findings "At Euro Mounts and findings, all our platinum, gold and silver bullion, castings and mounts are made from 100% recycled  precious metal" 

3. SMO gold - Betts Metal. 2Every ounce of our gold can be traced to mines that are accredited with the highest responsibility standards. These mines provide vital social, environmental and cultural support to local communities" There's also no use of Mercury in the mining process of SMO gold

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• I only make to order or very small one off production to limit the amount of valuable resources being used and sat in stock boxes. I'm not about over consumption and have built my business around this. I do not sell to multiple retailers and turned down opportunities to grow my business, to stay true to my beliefs. Working this way also reduces waste. The raw materials are only sourced as and when needed, with a few exceptions to stones. Working this way also means every item of jewellery is purposeful, and only ever came into being because of that purpose.

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• I only purchase my diamonds, sapphires and other stones from a small number of suppliers that I have used for at least the past 6 years and completely trust as individuals and businesses. These individuals and business have assured me that all their items have been responsibly sourced. I also use recycled diamonds, Ocean diamonds which involve no mining or Canadian diamonds. I'm also moving towards only using recycled or Ocean diamonds for 1.5mm and under white rounds for my work. I hope to achieve this by June 2022. Please see updates. My main suppliers include A.E.Wards, Nineteen48 and Bjorn

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• As of November 2022 I have been a monthly 1ct supporter of Diamonds for peace. Diamonds for Peace vision is "A world in which diamonds are mined, cut and processed with humanitarian and environmental considerations" Being a monthly supporter we are helping support the work Diamonds for Peace team are doing which includes providing support to improve the working conditions and social status of artisanal diamond workers in developing countries, especially in Africa. To learn more about how Diamonds for Peace work please visit here.

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• As of January 2020 I no longer offer gold plating or gold vermeil as a finish on my products. This is due to the nasty chemicals which are involved in the process and due to the gold that is simply lost from wear. Therefore I believe, gold plating and gold vermeil to be a wasteful product. It also makes it an expensive item over time as the wearer will need to have the item re-plated multiple times.

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• All chemicals in the workshop, such as pickling solution have been replaced with natural alternatives to help reduce impact on our environment. I also no longer offer a high polish finish as this requires compounds which can be harmful to my lungs and to the environment. 

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• All packing materials (this includes jewellery boxes, postal boxes, business cards, tissue paper, parcel tape and envelopes) are made from 100% recycled material and/or can be recycled. and/or composted compbined with some plantable elements. My jewellery boxes are made from 100% recycled paper (FSC* C153455) all my pouches and tote bags are made from 100% fairtrade cotton which can be reused and composted at the end of life. My paper bags are recyclable and compostable including the handles, just the tiny end need to be cut off. 

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• I only currently use Royal Mail for all my postal external postal needs, to learn more about their environmental policies please visit https://www.royalmailgroup.com/en/responsibility/our-focus-areas/environment/

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• As a Business and an individual I do not use a vehicle day to day. I actually do not own a car. I walk the 45 minutes to the workshop (sometimes run) and on the odd occasion us public transport.

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• I’m currently working on reducing the amount of waste produced in the workshop. A large number of my suppliers now use recyclable packaging and will continue to improve this area of the business.​

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• In 2022 my workshop, Brighton Jewellery Collective will be transitioning to a sustainable workshop. Meaning that all jewellers who rent a space will need to adhere to certain practices. This is an exciting step.

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I want your item of Rebekah Ann Jewellery to have as little environmental impact as it possibly can. I want to bring you luxury that doesn’t cost the Earth both in the environmental and in monetary sense.

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If you have any suggestions please do feel free to contact me.

Rx

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Are you looking for more information on eco jewellery and what makes a jewellery company eco and sustainable please visit www.ethicalmaking.org

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There can also be confusion with the language used in the industry and to describe certain aspects of being a goldsmith and a sustainable jeweller can be tricky and so I make sure to reference and work along side the Jewelry Glossary Project to help make sure that customers and goldsmiths/jewellers/sellers are using the same reference to make sure there is a transparency across the board with regards to the turns used.

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The goal of the Jewelry Glossary Project is to create shared definitions of key terms within the jewelry industry for use by the trade and the public. The project was launched to increase transparency throughout the supply chain, by building consensus on definitions for key terms and creating accountability for their usage.