Ethics & Environment

Our jewellery is made by hand in Australia with locally sourced materials. We are perpetually conscious of our environmental impact and are dedicated to improving our practices wherever possible to contribute to a sustainable industry and future. 

Controlling the manufacturing process

I strive to have as much control and oversight of the manufacturing process as I can, which is why everything is done in-house (literally, in my house). From designing, to cutting, to assembling, to packaging and posting. We are a small team of four reaping the benefits of a workspace with open communication and close relationships. Being involved in the making process (and not having products made offshore) means that we’re in control of the employee conditions, fair wages, and the quality control. I honestly wouldn’t have it any other way.

Working with plastic

At the end of the day, acrylic is plastic. We make products from plastic. This is not something that I take lightly, and I am highly conscious of the implications of our work on the environment.

Acrylic is great for long-lasting jewellery which you can treasure for a lifetime, due to being very strong and very lightweight. Our goal is to create designs that will be well-loved and passed on to others, and not end up in landfill. (As an aside, if you are thinking of throwing out your earrings, please don’t! Clean them and donate/gift them!) We offer repair services if something goes awry with your delivery or if an accident occurs, so don’t hesitate to get in touch if you need assistance. We’d much rather help you fix up a mishap then have them discarded.

As we cut all of the acrylic ourselves, we are in complete control of how much we use to ensure minimal wastage. We keep our scraps and cut the teeniest, tiniest pieces from them, in order to maximise usage of each acrylic sheet. When there is really nothing else to be done with the scraps, we donate them to Reverse Garbage, where they can be used in all sorts of projects (the materials are absolutely gorgeous after all). I am looking into acrylic recycling, however this is usually only for companies using acrylic on a much larger scale, due to the difficulties in recycling plastic of this nature. It’s not impossible, but there are very few recycling plants that will accept acrylic. One of my goals for the future is to partner with artists who wish to use offcuts similar to ours as their medium for creation.

Environmentally-friendly packaging

Most of our packaging can be recycled or even composted at home!

- Care cards, earring information cards and business cards: Printed in Australia, recyclable

- Label stickers: Paper-based, sourced from FSC-certified forests, manufactured in Australia, recyclable

- Tissue paper: FSC-certified, recycled paper, printed using soy-based inks, fully home-compostable and recyclable

- Cardboard boxes: Kraft corrugated cardboard, fully home-compostable and recyclable

- Hex wrap: We use kraft honeycomb paper wrap (hex wrap) in place of bubblewrap—if you do see bubblewrap in your packaging, this has been reused from deliveries from our suppliers. Recyclable, biodegradable and compostable

- Mailing bags: Made from renewable and compostable ingredients, biodegradable polymer (cornstarch), fully home-compostable. If you don't have a compost bin, go to www.sharewaste.com to find someone who has a compost bin near you. Some councils also provide a green organics waste/compost bin. These cannot be recycled and won’t biodegrade to their full potential in landfill. These are also reusable! Keep your mailer for the next time you need to send something via post - simply cut the bag open and keep the second adhesive strip intact to use when you need it.

- Garment bags (applicable for clothing items): Water soluble - dissolve in boiling water and give your plants a drink! The bag dissolves into boiling water with no toxic leftovers. The PVOH material is marine safe and uses a non-toxic, water-based ink.

Areas where we could improve and change

- Vinyl Stickers: These are not able to be recycled. Please note: Our circular label stickers (anything on our packaging) are paper-based and recyclable

- Printed shirts: As we are still in the testing phase of apparel, we are using an established Australian brand as our shirts supplier. The shirts are printed in Brisbane with non-toxic, water-based inks, but the shirts themselves are produced in Bangladesh. If the world of fashion calls to me, I will only be looking at Australian manufacturing, so that we can oversee more of the manufacturing process. You can read about AS Colour's social responsibility policies and endeavours on their website.