Sustainability

Practicing sustainability is of the utmost importance here at Goldeluxe jewelry. It’s an ongoing effort – something to always strive towards and find improvement. If you have any questions about our sustainability practices, please do not hesitate to reach out. 

Here are a few notable things I do to reduce my footprint and minimize impact to the earth:

Carbon Offset Shipping:

Goldeluxe has partnered with Ecodrive to plant a mangrove tree in Madagascar for every order shipped to help offset our carbon footprint and aid in the fight against climate change. These trees create oxygen and reduce CO2, help to alleviate poverty by providing jobs, and helps the ecosystem of the area.

Packaging:

Gift boxes – made with 100% recycled boxboard wrapped in 100% recycled paper. Cotton filling is 100% recycled non-tarnishing eco fiber.

Mailers – made with recycled content, 100% biodegradable and recyclable.

Bubble wrap – collected by friends and family members to be repurposed in our packaging. I haven’t bought it in 5 years!

Business cards – printed at a facility committed to social responsibility and eco-friendly printing initiatives that support non-profit organizations and environmental sustainability. 

Earring cards – made with 100% recycled content book board and is 100% recyclable.  

Gift bags used at events: made with 100% recycled craft paper.

Materials:

I use every scrap of metal possible. I have a scrap box that will one day be sent to a refinery but in over 5 years of business there has only been a small amount that has accumulated. It’s fun to get creative with scraps! Sometimes I use scraps and slightly flawed stones/pearls to create items for sample/seconds sales. 

My casting company saves all of their scrap and sends it back to their metal supplier to get refined back into casting grain. The casting grain they receive (and in turn create castings for me) is made up with recycled content (both post consumer and from casting houses) of varying percentages. 

Sterling silver and solid 14k gold sheet, wire and findings are made with recycled metals.

14k gold fill metal has been difficult to source as a recycled material. I am always looking though, and in the meantime I make sure not to waste any of it.

Stones & beads: I try to source American mined whenever possible. When I can’t, I make an effort to purchase from small, family owned businesses. 

Studio Practices: 

I try to go paperless as much as possible. When the printer is necessary, I try to use paper fully! That means if there is something from the printer that doesn’t need to be saved or sent out, I flip it over and print again on it. Scraps become paper for lists. The final destination is the recycling bin.

Minimize paper towels use by using rags for everything possible. 

Reuse all plastic bags that I get from ordering supplies.

Recycle everything possible that is disposed of in the studio. The trash bin rarely fills up – it only needs to be emptied every few months. 

Collect packaging material from shipments received for other small businesses that can use it.

Minimize impact to earth by having a home studio. No commute and no extra footprint from the use of another location.

Slow Fashion:  

Goldeluxe rejects the fast fashion mentality by creating timeless and versatile pieces. We offer pieces that are made to last with solid metals - this means they can be cleaned up using at-home methods, professionally polished, and refurbished in studio if needed to last a lifetime. 14k gold fill and heavy gold plated sterling silver (vermeil) jewelry are the only non-solid metals used - crafted to last a long time, especially if you take care of it. You can read more about 14k gold fill and vermeil here.