Jewelry

How This Entrepreneur Aspires To Make Jewelry More Sustainable - Forbes

How does zero-waste, ethical manufacturing, and recycling apply to jewelry?

Melissa Joy Manning, the founder and designer of her eponymous conscious collection of fine jewelry, has been in the industry for 20 years. In those two decades, she’s been to the mines, seen first-hand the supply chains, and developed a green-certified studio in California that uses only recycled metals and offsets all their shipments. 

There’s been a lot of talk about cleaning up the fashion and food industries. But Manning wants to bring the same attention to the jewelry market.

Chhabra: I’d love to understand what defines an ethical gem. What are the standards in the industry? Can you walk me through some of the certifications that exist and what they correlate to? 

Manning: There is so much conflicting information regarding ethical gems, and the conversation is further complicated by the fact that stones often are passed through so many different people before reaching their final owner that it becomes difficult to trace and certify them.  

Certification is an issue that the industry is endeavoring to take on. Groups like the JVC and The Jewelry Industry Summit are working to create standards for the industry to follow. The only one I can speak to is The Kimberly Process. This certification, however, is more geo-political and doesn’t address environmental issues. 

Unfortunately, the standards for classifying something as ethical aren’t necessarily uniform. What is “ethical” to one person isn’t to someone else, especially when we are imposing Western Standards on non-Western countries where stones are sourced from. This is a complex topic and one that we can’t solve alone - we need input from miners, NGOs and governments.  

So, until there is a uniform accord I can trust, I set my own standards and endeavor to follow them. Where possible, we buy direct from mine owners that we trust and from vendors who do the same. I’ve actually had to make some hard decisions as a designer, leaving behind beautiful stones on fun Tucson visits because I can’t reconcile my conscious with what I am buying. In addition to following our brand’s sustainability commitments, we also use our profits to push for better resources and make better choices. 

Like most things, the best and most ethical resources are the most expensive and until we have a trickle-down into a mass consumer price point, we will continue to struggle with this issue.

Chhabra: I'm sure you're aware of lab-grown diamonds. What do you make of them? And why did you choose to still work with diamonds?

Manning: I am aware of lab-grown diamonds.  My brother and I actually got one for his engagement ring.  I’m pretty interested in them, but also conflicted. I love what nature makes and have always been drawn to unique stones, so lab-grown doesn’t really work for me unless I have a custom client (like my brother) who requests one.  But even then I have questions about the energy needed to make one. I know that some labs are switching to wind and solar power. When that happens that will be really cool.

 I still work with diamonds because I genuinely like them and am secure in my sourcing. I mostly use Canadian and up-cycled heirloom diamonds these days.  And the new ones I do buy are certified by my vendor, and follow a strict chain of custody that ensures both environmental and social responsibility. 

Chhabra: There are numerous companies shifting away from the use of diamonds, does that concern you? 

Manning: I’m confident in my choices.  I do, however, have a very open mind and if I need to change it, I will.

Chhabra: Can you share any experiences of visiting mines or gem sites? What surprised you? What further changes would you like to see in the industry? 

Manning: I’ve been to Herkimer, NY to visit and vet our Herkimer Diamond source and it was an awesome experience.  I was surprised by everything about it—the air-driven tools, the water treatment, all of it. Because they take from the earth, they believe in taking care of it. They uniquely understand the partnership they need to build with nature. Otherwise, the raw resources won’t exist for them and they will be out of business. I wish more people understood this. I’ve seen a lot of stones get mined out and disappear from the market. It’s always sad to know that somewhere, a piece of our earth has been laid bare.

The changes I’d like to see are myriad. I’d like to see increased, affordable access to clean materials that follow one standard that include a people component, not just an environmental one. Honestly, the stone industry is so multi-faceted, and the issues are multiple: geopolitical, environmental and social.  We need to embrace all three and create some kind of transparent metric that grades material, not just for beauty, but also for responsibility.

Chhabra: How much-recycled material do you use in your collections and how does this compare to virgin material in terms of its performance/durability? 

Manning: All of my metal is recycled. There is no difference in its performance and durability. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, there is no reason any jeweler shouldn’t be using recycled or fair mined silver or gold these days. And stones are especially durable. They will be around longer than any of us. My favorite projects and designs all now revolve around recycling stones.  It’s a design challenge that I find inspiring and uplifting.