You hurt someone
And not just in a ’she feels bad now’, kind of way. But you robbed her of food on the table or an education or even years of her life.
Not directly, of course, but why should that matter?
Okay, I’m being confusing. Let me start again.
Most jewellery is complicit in evil
The majority of people buy jewellery from regular stores, chains, on the high street, the Internet.
The majority of jewellery sold on the high street is produced in unsafe, unhealthy conditions, damaging the health of those who make them.
Oh, and you’re killing the planet too
The majority of jewellery destroys the environment. Mining for precious stones and metals frequently causes massive soil erosion.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
You can change the whole thing now.
Our first customers are going to be in the minority, along with other ethical consumers.
But being decent is catching on.
FairTrade used to be the province of a few dedicated individuals; now it’s sold in Starbucks. Supermarket plastic bags implore you to ‘Please re-use or recycle me’. Primark is part of the Ethical Trading Initiative.
Yes, the mainstream is just about starting to get ethical.
Save lives today
Why wait until everybody’s doing it?
Someone is hurting right now, today, making something beautiful for you, for your partner, for your parent. You have the power to stop that hurt and make sure the crafters of the jewellery you buy don’t suffer for it.
Ethical Beads are, well, ethical.
“Socially just and environmentally sound”
- Safe, healthy working conditions - combating appalling existing conditions
- Living wages - helping to end poverty & promote justice
- Earth-friendly, environmentally sustainable - decent mining practices, recycled materials
Plus, for no extra cost…
We care about quality. After all, if we only produced ethical products nobody wanted, no one would buy them!
- Hand-crafted
- Unique
- Fashionable
If you think this is an important issue, please let me know. You could really help Ethical Beads change things now, particularly if you’re keen to research this with me. I welcome feedback too, constructive criticism, questions… You name it: Either comment or email me. Much appreciated!
3 responses so far ↓
Lisa // Feb 9, 2007 at 1:11 am
Hi Kathleen–
I found my self knitting a pretty crazy hat that just called out for beads, so I zipped down to ‘Bead Happy’ and found some charmers with big enough holes and the hat looks great.
Then a jewelry maker friend suggested I could make polymer clay beads—very cool! I thought. But then I began to wonder if that stuff is good for you. And then I got to thinking about African trade beads, and doubting that the people who made them were paid adequately, or had health protections in place. Then I thought, somebody somewhere is worrying about these things already and a Google search brought me to… you.
So, where do I go to get ethical beads?
naomi howles // Apr 23, 2008 at 9:52 pm
i am also looking for ethical beads - i want to find small (5mm ish ) faceted acrylic beads for jewellery and tiara design, which are ethically produced. i am finding my research quite hard going so any suggestions would be greatly received. thanks loads for your article - i definitely agree with what you say.
Heidi Allen // Aug 3, 2008 at 11:28 pm
Hey all!
I too was/am looking for ethical beads. I am hoping to start producing environmentally and socially sound jewelry. I have found a site: www.happymangobeads.com
The beads that they have are socially sound (check out their story). They also have some recycled glass beads which I think are the bomb. I was hoping there were more sites like this, but I have yet to find them! let me know if you guys dig something up.