At Silk & Steel, we pride ourselves on making beautiful jewellery that lasts and is ethically and sustainably made.
If we can, we make most of our beaded designs right here in Auckland New Zealand, with a small team of skilled makers who meticulously craft our designs.
All of our sterling silver designs are crafted by artisans in Jaipur, India. Our boutique manufacturer is highly skilled and produces our collections in small batches. We do not mass produce and we always follow local environmental and safety regulations.
We are proud to be working with a small manufacturer who cares deeply for their artisans, ensuring they are well paid and provides a supportive working environment.
Our manufacturer is a member of the responsible jewellery council and also of GJEPC (Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council), which is an Indian government organisation. They are also ISO certified. Third-party certification includes Bluesign, GOTS, and Living Wage Foundation accreditation.
We always reuse, upcycle and recycle materials, whenever we can. We use recycled gold and silver in production. Last year, in our collections, we used recycled silver in 65% of our total production, remelting unused, old or broken jewellery.
We require that all stones and raw materials are sourced ethically by our manufacturer.
We are committed to minimising and improving our environmental impact and one of the first steps we took was updating our packaging. We have since removed all foam inners from our boxes and replaced velvet pouches with a more sustainable calico (cotton) fabric. All our tissue paper, lookbooks and postcards, are recyclable and we reuse all our paper and soft plastic in the studio, where possible. We use compostable courier bags and have eliminated any use of bubble wrap, when sending out products.
We are working hard towards being plastic free and using compostable substitutes. We are continually evolving and looking for ways to improve and play our part in the protection of the environment. If you have any feedback or suggestions we would love to hear from you.
Over the years, we have actively supported a number of charities, including Breast Cancer Cure and the Genealogical Cancer Foundation, where we have designed and donated jewellery to help raise awareness and funds for these organisations. We have also supported other much needed charities, such as Women’s Refuge and Hospice. Giving back and helping others is something we strongly believe in and actively support.
We now offer a “Full-Circle” sustainability initiative. We will recycle silver and re-use stones, so nothing goes to waste.
So, how does it work? Return your old Silk & Steel jewellery to us and we will give you an online store credit to spend towards a new design on our website!
If you would like to take part in our Full-Circle offer email studio@silkandsteel.co.nz - we would love to hear from you.
