This year one of my main missions is to work on what Little Gems Jewels can do to improve its impact on our amazing planet. I have been learning about this with some of the wonderful free courses by Small Business Britain UK because it can seem daunting at first to make a real start and put plans in place.
I have discovered that there are quite a few things that I am doing already that are making steps towards a more sustainable business.
- My products are built to last for slow fashion
- I use UK suppliers for most of my gemstones who in turn have ethical policies in place to make sure that their stone suppliers have good working conditions and are paid fairly
- All of my packaging is made from recycled materials and can be reused or recycled
- As my office is at home I don't own a car or have to use additional energy for business premises. My energy supplier uses renewable electricity sources. I have reduced my energy consumption this year by relying on wearable blankets instead of the central heating!
- I buy recycled and eco friendly office supplies which can be recycled, as well as refurbished tech
But there is still so much to do and I am committed to start making changes now so that I can improve the sustainability of my small business as a whole.
The first thing that I have changed is my one year guarantee. I now offer a free lifetime repair service for all of my products, so that you if you happen to damage your jewels you can still continue to wear them instead of discarding them.
Going forward I will be considering the traceability of my suppliers for metal and gemstones to see how I can make the best choices available to create my products.
I will also be looking to support environmental charities and projects that can help our planet, and potentially carbon offset some of the impact that I am not able to change right now.
So watch this space for some new more environmentally friendly products in the future, including lab created gemstones and recycled materials, along with news about how my sustainable journey is going so far.
If you have any questions or any suggestions about what eco friendly jewellery products you would like to see in the future then please do let me know below.