We don't need to hark on about why we should all be thinking more sustainably – there's enough news about the climate crisis to clearly tell us that – but even for the best of us, we still need a nudge in the environmentally friendly direction to make the changes that'll better our planet.
In this day and age, a reusable coffee cup is no longer your get-out-of-jail-free-card for acting sustainably in other areas of your life. Now more than ever, we need to be putting our green thinking caps on and addressing how we can buy more sustainably with the clothes we wear, the beauty we put on our skin and the ornaments we place in our homes. So, this September, we're doing exactly that.
Our new 'Sustainable September' series will be highlighting the best sustainably-minded products and brands that range over fashion, beauty and homeware, everyday throughout the month, showing that there are earth-affable options that you can opt for. Today, we're looking at eco-friendly brand, Bar Jewellery, and their flourishing sustainable label.
Addressing a need for sustainability within the jewellery industry has always been a rather prickly subject matter; those precious stones we love come at the cost environmentally-damaging mining efforts. And while we may hark on about recycling, or any of the ‘cycling’ suffixes for that matter – check our latest SHOP edit to see why – jewellery brands, such as Bar Jewellery, are too shifting with the times.
Born in 2015, founder Sophie Mckay, had previously designed for some of the biggest names in fashion for eight years, but always wanted to set up her own business. Unlike other jewellery brands on the market, Mckay wanted to produce vintage inspired pieces that fused her love of architecture and contemporary art with a jewellery style that encapsulated minimal and modern shapes. As a result, Bar, whose name comes from the idea of stripping back to basics, breathes new life into the jewellery sphere, through the brands philosophy that sustainability and desirability can exist in harmony.
By keeping in contact with their manufacturers and with visits every few weeks, the brand proves that fashion can be circular, while also being transparent. While the team work locally as much as possible, production of all their complex, hand formed pieces purely can't be done all in house. In their factory in Denpasar, Bali – that embodies all of the same recycling philosophies as the one in the UK – they work closely with the local community while building on Bali’s rich history of jewels making and craftsmanship in the region. The factory also gives back to the community, providing work for unemployed locals by employing and giving them new skills.
But what makes recycled metal so unique as opposed to up-cycled clothing, is that jewellery will look, feel and value exactly the same as if it was ‘virgin’. Bar Jewellery goes one step further by sourcing their metals from local jewellers over-production, broken and unwanted jewellery, coins, electronic scrap, car parts and with some of the silver coming from their very own in house factories recycling process. The brand's structural designs means there won't be any hints that your favourite Rivera Earrings once had another life, but for our aspiring sustainable souls, it's nice to know.
More More More!
+ Sustainable September: Evermore
+ Sustainable September: Skin Sapiens
+ Surprise Me!
