bronwen / Best Friend Necklace
Brownwen
As designers, artists and retailers of jewelry, we are officially concerned about the way in which the public perceives the 45 billion dollar a year gold and gemstone jewelry industry; and we think you should be officially concerned as well.
Open pit mining is one of the most ecologically and socially destructive practices out there: it can displace communities, contaminate drinking water, hurt workers, destroy pristine environments....the list of negative impacts is shamefully long.
But as designers, artists and retailers of jewelry, we also understand the emotional participation involved in creating or purchasing a piece of jewelry...and that emotional participation has a value that money can't buy.
Since the beginning of time, humans have used jewelry to adorn, decorate, define social status...in other words, to express themselves. Without question, humans will continue to use jewelry to self express and it is time now to actively reform the industry practices so that the planet benefits, indigenous communities are supported and consumers have better options.
In the meantime, we need to be mindful and deliberate about accurately educating the public and supporting organizations committed to the cause so that we can continue to honor the emotional participation involved in creating and wearing jewelry. After all, isn't that what truly makes jewelry beautiful?
www.earthworks.com
www.nodirtygold.org
www.ethicalmetalsmiths.org
Brownwen 2
Whenever possible, we source from Fair Trade certified vendors and we pay Bay Area labor a Bay Area wage. We source 85% of our silver and gold from local, woman-owned and operated companies who have been working with the same group of artisans for 15 years.
These women have created incredible infrastructures within local Balinese/Thai communities, which offer impressive support in everything from healthcare to maternity leave to daycare to excellent wages to community outreach programs!
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