Hey friends,
Being low-waste, energy efficient, and eco-friendly are all things I care about. I know, I know, I make jewelry and it’s one of the most luxury and needless endeavors out there. The best thing I could do is not make jewelry. There is generally a lot of waste involved, and some of it’s pretty bad stuff. I can’t do much in the big picture, but I do what I can in my own ways. Many people want to wear jewelry, but care about the way it’s produced, and want it to be as ethical as possible. I’m going to tell you a few of the ways I try to be environmentally conscious in my studio (and daily life).
Shared Studio
I share my jewelry studio with 5 other people, and I work in a shared building with many other artists and small businesses. This saves on energy, especially heat and light, when we’re there at the same time. We are also able to share tools, ideas, and materials.
Commuting
I don’t have a car. I commute everywhere by foot, bike, bus, or shared ride. I’m super privileged to be able to do this, but it actually makes my life simpler. I can’t imaging having to parallel park all on capitol hill every day, not to mention paying for parking, insurance, and maintenance.
Buying Recycled Metal
I buy only recycled metal from jewelry suppliers like Rio Grande and Stuller. They make it super easy these days. Gold mining is one of the least eco-friendly methods of getting gold. recycling it from old gold jewelry or gold scrap is so much more efficient and less wasteful.
Using Every Scrap of Metal
I save all my metal scraps. Right now I work mostly in silver, so I have little containers where I store small pieces of silver sheet and wire left over from previous projects. When I’m working on a new piece, and just need a jump ring or a tiny piece of sheet, or an inch of wire, I look in my scrap container first.
Sweeps
I sweep off every surface at least once a day! The dust is full of silver and gold, and is valuable (and bad to breath). I save the dust in a container, because I don’t want to throw out any amount of gold or silver. That would be like throwing away cash. It adds up!
Refining Metal
Once a year or so I send in all my dust, scraps too small to use, and any materials I don’t think I’ll ever use to a metal refinery. I package it up securely, weigh it out, and mail it in. I get a nice check back (or sometimes I just use the trade-in value to buy recycled metal), and I’m not breathing in my dusty air, or putting any valuable metals in landfills.
Disposing of Chemicals
I try not to use anything too hazardous, but the main chemicals I use in my jewelry making are citric acid for jewelry pickle, and liver of sulphur, which is mostly potassium and sulphur. Neither of these chemicals is super toxic, but when I use them with my jewelry, they absorb tiny particles of gold and silver. Again, I don’t want to put them down the drain. I recently learned how to properly dispose of them and how to take super hazardous chemicals to a hazardous waste treatment facility. The more you know!
Recycling
In addition to recycling metal, I also try to recycle other materials. I reuse glass and plastic containers as many times as I can, I keep notes on scraps of paper pulled out of my recycling bin, I reuse plastic baggies until they’re too holey to use, I rinse out rags and use them forever. I hate buying new things for my studio because I know they won’t look new for long
Buying Second-Hand
I try to buy my tools, equipment, and materials locally as much as possible. I go to gemstone sales at Seattle Center a few times a year. I go to local tool swaps and equipment sales whenever I can. The Danaca Tool Swap is coming up! I trade and buy stones and materials from my friends, and just give stuff away if I’m not using it. The great thing about being in Seattle is that there are so many other jewelers here doing similar things to me who are always happy to share a tool or resource if I ask.
I think that’s all for now. I’m sure there are other things I do that would be considered environmentally friendly, but these are all the conscious things I do that I can think of right now. Let me know what you do to make the world a more beautiful place!
Gold scraps (not my image, but it’s pretty)