Recycled Silver - Why it's important to make the change.

We are all looking for ways, big and small, to help be part of the solution to climate change, and sustainability. Consumers are now looking for sustainability, transparency and ethical manufacture in the brands they believe in, buy into and support. Lily Charmed has been seeking ways to take the small steps towards more sustainable and ethical production of their jewellery, a big step is using recycled sterling silver. Making small changes to production makes big differences to our environment.

We use recycled silver to craft all our charms. Recycling silver helps to limit the amount of metals that must be produced, the use of chemicals to process them, and lowers the impact on the environment. We also like the sentimental journey of using recycled silver. For us charm jewellery tells your story, and has an emotional impact  - using recycled silver brings with it it's journey, the silver had a life before, a purpose, its own story, and by reusing silver we carry its story to the next generation.

Mining has always been a fundamental process in the the jewellery supply chain. In 2004, before Lily Charmed was launched Lucy Lee (Founder of Lily Charmed) and her husband Jon visited Potosi, a silver mine in Bolivia, and saw first hand the impact of mining on the physical environment, the chemical footprint required to process metal, and the high impact on the workers - this has informed their decision to work with recycled silver in their jewellery wherever possible.

Potosi, is a 'Silver Mountain' in Bolivia, and has been mined for silver for over 470 years, and is still one of the largest silver deposits in South America. Jon and Lucy toured the mine - where they witnessed first hand, the hard working conditions of heat and dust, and basic worker safety (dynamite was for sale on the street!) It was humbling for them to see the conditions at the mine, that the 16,000 workers had to experience daily, to bring rocks containing silver to the surface.

Lucy feels 'As jewellery makers it's incredibly important to understand where your raw materials come from, and the impact it has on the environment and the people sourcing it'. 

Sustainability of Packaging Materials

Lily Charmed has been making other changes too. We have changed our gift boxes, so they are manufactured using 100% recyclable material, by an FSC certified company (Forests For All Forever). 

We hope that these small changes, will help make Lily Charmed a more sustainable and environmentally friendly company. And we are always looking for other areas where we can contribute to a more sustainable supply chain,