There are not many holistically sustainable jewelry labels in Germany. Because it is no secret how problematic the extraction and trade of precious metals such as gold and silver or diamonds are. Therefore, both social and ecological sustainability usually fall by the wayside with conventional jewelry labels & their jewelry design and the extraction of raw materials is momentous for man and nature. We at Maren Jewellery want to do it differently. For us, there is so much passion, love and detail in jewelry design and craftsmanship that we think it deserves a conscious and holistic sustainable attention. After all, for many people jewelry represents a lifelong companion with great emotional value. For us, therefore, one thing was clear from the outset: jewelry design and sustainability must be mutually dependent at Maren Jewellery: We want to be a jewelry label that thinks sustainability holistically down to the smallest detail, because we love nature in all its facets. That is why we want to reflect its beauty in our jewelry and manufacture our products in harmony with it. That sounds incredibly beautiful and promising at first, but what does it mean in concrete terms? You can read here how we have captured our intention and how we put it into practice day by day as a sustainable jewelry label.
Our WeMind sustainability initiative
As a mindful, sustainable and responsible jewelry label, our values are paramount. In order to make these values tangible for us as well as for you as a consumer, we have also launched our We Mind Initiative with the foundation of Maren Jewellery.
Sustainable, Responsible and Mindful srepresent the three core values of our sustainability initiative. Each core value is in turn subdivided into five further self-imposed requirements for our jewelry design and business activities. Under Sustainable, we collect the requirements for our materials and their reusability. Responsible summarizes our personal requirements for our production and our partners. And under Mindful we understand the mindful interaction with ourselves, nature and other living beings.
You will find the details of all the contents and components of our WeMind Initiative here .
What we stand for as a sustainable jewelry label
Our vision is to make the world a better place. In order to get a little closer to this goal every day, we have consciously joined forces with other partners who care about sustainable jewelry design. We believe that the more people with a similar set of values join forces, the more we can achieve as a group.
Our vision is to make the world a better place.
We are certified B Corporation
We are incredibly proud to be the first German jewelry label to be part of the B Corp Bewegung. B Corp is a global award and certification for companies that operate in a sustainable, mindful and responsible manner. The requirements coincide 1 to 1 with the values of Maren Jewellery and we are overjoyed that our efforts and our business concept have withstood the rigorous testing by B Lab. The cooperation serves as proof once again: sustainability in jewelry design is possible.
If you are interested in more details, you will find them here.
Climate positive jewelry manufacturing
Entrepreneurial activity causes CO₂, so of course does the production of jewelry. Nevertheless, there are enormous differences. On average, the production of a piece of jewelry causes 29.27 kg of CO₂. Our jewelry, on the other hand, causes an average of just 0.4 kg of CO₂. This means that Maren Jewellery produces around 73 times less CO₂ than conventional jewelry. How do we manage that?
The majority of CO₂ emissions are generated during material extraction. For us, only a negligible part of the emissions is attributable to the materials. This is due to our conscious decision to use CO₂-neutral gold and synthetic diamonds with a climate-neutral footprint. We are also already operating other adjusting screws. These include, for example, a Fairphone, green electricity, the avoidance of air travel, and transport routes that are kept as short as possible.
This means that our CO₂ balance - as mentioned - is already significantly lower than that of conventional jewelry labels. But since our goal is to combine jewelry design and sustainability in the best possible way, that wasn't enough for us. What we can't save, we want to make up for. We therefore work with Chooose an initiative that sets up projects that offset the CO₂ consumption of donating companies and private individuals. With each of our pieces of jewelry, we offset 100 kilograms of CO₂. This means we offset more CO₂ than we produce. The result: a positive CO₂ balance and thus climate positivity.
We strive for circular economy in jewelry design
For us, sustainable jewelry design means that our products are part of a Circular economy and we thus strengthen it. It is a form of economy in which products are shared, borrowed, reused and repaired for as long as possible, so as not to consume new materials and to save resources.
As a sustainable jewelry label, we therefore only use recycled precious metals and synthetic eco diamonds, use recyclable packaging, only produce to order and allow all Maren Jewellery pieces to be remelted and made into new jewelry. Unfortunately, so far there are only a few jewelry labels that take on this task.
Transparent sustainability reporting
For you and for us, we decided to write a sustainability report to transparently show what really makes us sustainable as a jewelry label. This allowed us to get an accurate picture of our status quo and define future goals in concrete terms. Here you will find our report including a detailed overview of our values and goals.
We support the Earthbeat Foundation
With 3% of our annual profit we support the Earthbeat Foundation. With the Earthbeat Foundation, we have found another important partner in the campaign for more sustainability in the jewelry industry. The clearly formulated goal is: The legal, safe, sustainable and environmentally friendly handling of the raw material gold must be supported and the new mining of gold must be stopped.
Even though we only use recycled gold from the beginning, it is a matter of the heart for us to support the initiative and drive the change forward
We process sustainable, recycled materials
That we are very careful in the choice of our materials and all our decisions are made consciously, is probably clear from the previous text. In the following, we would like to show you once again exactly which materials we use to ensure a compatibility of sustainability and jewelry design.
Gold and Silver from Urban Mining
We'll keep it short and sweet: Hardly any raw material can be recycled as well as gold. There is no loss when remelting the precious metal. By recycling gold that is already available - urban mining - no further damage is done to the environment and people, and the circular economy is promoted. In our opinion, there is not a single reason against this most sustainable form of gold mining and processing. More details you will find here.
Diamonds grown in the laboratory
NFor us, sustainable jewelry design also means responsibility with regard to diamonds: The production of our jewelry must not happen at the expense of our planet. However, a conflict-free origin of diamonds is usually difficult to trace and prove. In addition to ecological aspects, this is one of the main reasons why we, as a sustainable jewelry label, have opted for laboratory-grown diamonds from the very beginning. The synthetic diamonds do not differ in their appearance and uniqueness in any way from natural diamonds and at the same time can be worn without a guilty conscience. If you would like to learn more about the production of synthetic diamonds and our suppliers, you are welcome to read here.
Ecological packaging
Making the design process holistically sustainable is of great importance to us. For us as a jewelry label, sustainable jewelry design therefore does not end with the finished piece of jewelry. The packaging as well as the packaging material should also meet our high standards. The linen for our Linen Case, the cardboard for our Paper Case, our paper insert, the filling material, the shipping labels and even the printing ink on our wrapping paper come from sustainable partners who care about nature as much as we do. So you can be sure that your new piece of jewelry will reach you in the most environmentally friendly way possible. You can find all our partners in the field of packaging here.
There is still much to do
Even though we are proud and convinced to have already taken some important steps towards reconciling sustainability and jewelry design, we are not perfect either. We are far from the end of this exciting and challenging journey and want to continue to improve, learn and do our part as a sustainable jewelry label for a more sustainable world.
Frequently asked questions
RJC Certification (Jewelry Certification)
As a non-profit organization, the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) goal with its certification is to encourage jewelry companies to adopt responsible practices and supply chains from the mining of the precious metals and diamonds used to the distribution of the jewelry. In doing so, they place a special focus on the preservation of human rights, as well as ecological sustainability.
Fair Trade Gold Seal (Jewelry Certification)
DThe Fairtrade Gold label advocates for small-scale gold mining, their workers and families, and communities. By imposing strict and responsible regulations on occupational health and safety and pricing policies, and by charging Fairtrade premiums on products, it helps miners to improve their social and economic situation on their own. Child labor is strictly prohibited and adherence to strict mining criteria not only protects the workers in the long term, but also our environment
Fairmined seal (jewelry certification)
The Fairmined seal certifies responsibly mined gold from small-scale mining organizations to achieve sustainable change in social and environmental conditions in artisanal small-scale mining and to promote sustainable development and environmental protection.
B Corporation
The international certificate ‚Benefit Corporation‘ or 'B Corp' for short, certifies companies that are aware of their social, economic and ecological responsibilities and use them transparently to bring about sustainable and positive change in the global economy. For the certificate-awarding non-profit organization B Lab, this is given when profit maximization does not come first at any price, but the needs of all interest groups are bindingly taken into account and placed at the center of entrepreneurial action. Certified companies commit to behaving in accordance with the B Corp guidelines and are regularly re-measured against them.
Maren Jewellery is also a B Corp.
CO₂ Neutral
Companies that are CO2 Neutral certified take responsibility for the CO2 emissions generated in the production and delivery of their products or services and fully offset them. In addition, they strive to reduce future greenhouse gas emissions.
Cradle to cradle
The Cradle to Cradle Certified® Product Standard is a globally recognized benchmark in the assessment of sustainable, safe, socially responsible and circular manufacturing of products. The certificate aims to ensure that all certified products have a positive impact on people and the environment and encourages companies to use sustainable, innovative and advanced materials and methods.
Yes, Maren Jewellery is a B Corp, which means that we have received a sustainability certificate for taking seriously the social and societal responsibility that comes with any startup. For focusing on the needs of those who are directly or indirectly affected by the activities of our business. These may be employees, suppliers or customers. All those who are interested in the long-term existence of Maren Jewellery. We also make sure to work with suppliers who also have sustainability certificates. Three of our partners are e.g. RJC certified.
In addition, we are currently working on two further sustainability certifications: the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) certificate, which was established specifically for jewelry, and the CO2 Neutral certification.
At Maren Jewellery, we take a mindful, sustainable and responsible approach to business that defines every decision we make and permeates our entire production process. From the initial design idea to the final delivery to our customers, our jewelry is made with the environment in mind - without compromise. We use only recycled gold, silver and synthetic eco diamonds, plastic-free packaging and only work with selected sustainable partners and suppliers who share our vision and inspire us to think sustainability every day. We advocate long-term relationships with our partners, support fair working conditions and strictly reject child labor. Maren Jewellery produces exclusively in Germany 'Made to Order', which allows us to keep our transport distances as short as necessary and to avoid overproduction. As far as it is in our power, we do not use plastic in the production of our jewelry.
Written by: Franka
Franka is a freelancer in the fields of marketing and communication and lives with her small family in Munich. She tries to consciously organize her everyday life in order to gradually integrate more sustainability into her life.
