Editor’s Note
As consumers increasingly seek ethical fashion, this guide highlights jewellery brands committed to better environmental and social practices, helping you make more sustainable choices.
Just like clothing, the jewellery industry has a complex web of supply chains and sustainability issues that impact on people, the planet, and animals. But we’ve rounded up the best more sustainable brands making jewellery with better ethics.
The increasing global focus on sustainability in the fashion industry has also raised questions about the environmental impacts and ethics of the jewellery that we adorn ourselves with. When Good On You is rating brands, we look out for several certifications that signal a business is striving to do better, including the Responsible Jewellery Council’s membership, and whether gold is Fairmined or Fairtrade. You too can look out for these when shopping.
The more responsible jewellery brands below create beautiful lower-impact accessories and gifts, and have all been rated “Good” or “Great” by our world-class ratings team.
Responsible design for social impact is Quazi Design’s ethos. Handmade in Eswatini from waste newspaper and encased in brass, its jewellery is sure to meet all your ethical standards. Each piece is dipped in varnish for durability.
Hailey Gerrits makes jewellery from recycled vintage find and semi-precious gemstones in Vancouver, Canada.
Every piece of ARTICLE22 jewellery is locally handcrafted in Laos using recycled materials from Vietnam War bombs, plane parts, military hardware, and other aluminium scraps. The brand embodies the innovation that the fashion industry needs more of—using recycled materials to produce beautiful globally marketable products, while equipping local artisans with new skill sets and providing them with a sustainable source of income. ARTICLE22 gives back to clear more unexploded bombs in Laos, supports traditional artisans, and donates a proportion of profit to community development for workers.
AuTerra is a South African brand that creates sustainable jewellery handcrafted in precious metals recycled from e-waste.
Atelier Lavoisier is a French high-end jewellery brand. It uses lab-grown diamonds to show that luxury does not have to come at a cost to the earth. The brand also uses some recycled materials, including people’s old jewellery, to make new pieces.
ABLE is a US-based clothing and accessories brands, that works with communities all over the world to make a meaningful impact, producing slow fashion that pays a living wage to women who have faced extraordinary circumstances. Most pieces are made from recycled silver, natural solutions are used in the manufacturing process, and scraps are melted down into new pieces of gold and silver.
Luxury handmade jewellery from designer Melissa Joy Manning. The stunning pieces are crafted locally from recycled silver and gold sourced from a Green Certified refinery. The brand’s artisans design jewellery to be treasured and to last, redefining what “precious” means by creating pieces that are unique to the wearer, instead of contributing to a culture of disposable fashion.
AGMES is a modern jewellery line from the US, inspired by urban landscapes, architecture, and modern art. Its pieces are handmade in New York from lower-impact materials, including recycled metals.
All Blues creates timeless jewellery for everyone, handcrafted in Stockholm, Sweden from recycled sterling silver.