Final Rearch

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10551-015-2893-9#citeas

October 13, 2015

Moraes, Caroline, Marylyn Carrigan, Carmela Bosangit, Carlos Ferreira, and Michelle McGrath. “Understanding Ethical

Luxury Consumption through Practice Theories: A Study of Fine Jewellery Purchases.” Journal of Business Ethics

145, no. 3 (2015): 525–43. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2893-9.

“The inclusion of recycled materials in luxury fashion products can diminish the value of such products, as corporate responsibility remains a secondary concern for consumers, and product quality and brand reputation remain the most salient criteria for choosing luxury products in such categories” (Moraes et al).

I disagree with this statement. I think it is solely up to these large jeweler corporations to incorporate recycled materials into their products. If a high end jeweler like Bvlgari were to utilize recycled materials, I feel like consumers would still be inclined to buy their products because of their already prestigious status. I feel like consumers buy luxury based on brand status. I’m not sure if this could apply to lower end brands, as they don’t have the status that designer jewelers do.

“It is possible that research attempts to identify ‘the green consumer’ have been unsuccessful because there is no green consumer: consumers are green in relation to some activities and not others” (Moraes et al).

I do agree with this statement and it was super eye opening as well. In today’s culture, a lot of brands try to paint themselves as green, but what are they really doing to be green? Who are they trying to appeal to by going green; furthermore, how are they so sure this is what the consumer wants, who are these consumers?

https://www-jstor-org.ezproxy2.library.colostate.edu/stable/20486701?searchText=Unsustainable+jewelry+industry&searchUri=%2Faction%2FdoBasicSearch%3FQuery%3DUnsustainable%2Bjewelry%2Bindustry&ab_segments=0%2Fbasic_search_gsv2%2Fcontrol&refreqid=fastly-default%3A5be72e78b2578648f1489c889b47737f&seq=7#metadata_info_tab_contents

February 2008

Donohoe, Martin. “Flowers, Diamonds, and Gold: The Destructive Public Health, Human Rights, and

Environmental Consequences of Symbols of Love.” Human Rights Quarterly 30, no. 1

(2008): 164–82. https://doi.org/10.1353/hrq.2008.0003.

“Diamond mine owners violate indigenous peoples' rights local and national governments in activities that have the effect of destroying traditional homelands and forcing resettlement” (Donohoe).

I disagree with this statement because I don’t think the impact the mining industry has on people is exclusive to indigenous people only. This directly impacts the immediate communities, which consists of people of different races, and also directly impacts the miners themselves as well as their families.

“Mining hastens the environmental degradation of places already facing ecosystem pressures such as war, overpopulation, deforestation, unsustainable fishing practices, and rapidly dwindling supplies of clean water” (Donahoe).

I do agree with this statement. Diamond mining as well as gold mining is extremely detrimental to the surrounding environments in regards to contamination and pollution, but also contributes to climate change overall. Is a piece of jewelry really worth the environmental effects? If people could directly see the impact, they may feel differently.

11/1

Based on the feedback I received from my classmates, I’m interested in the idea of creating a line of jewelry strictly from recycled materials, straying away from metal. I drew up some sketches to visualize what this may look like. I want to resemble modern, trendy jewelry pieces with an emphasis on the recycled material rather than utilizing traditional jewelry making materials such as precious metals and gemstones.

11/7

The flannel earring idea didn’t quite work out as planned. I went to Arc Thrift today and bought a few objects based on their texture and color. I found a flannel to use, but I was having a difficult time getting the fabric to adhere to the wire of the chain links. I decided to experiment with melting plastic. I cut a few pieces out of a plastic lid and lightly torched them to see what the material would do. I was able to bend the plastic into the shapes I wanted fairly easily, so I created a bunch of flower petals to string onto apiece of wire. After the petals were shaped the way I wanted, I used a center punch to poke holes in the top of them. I cut some sterling silver wire and melted balls on the end that way the petals wont fall off the wire. I wanted the ear wires to be part of the design, so I bent them in a way that accentuates the flower petals, which is the focal point of each earring.

11/9

During my trip to Arc the other day, I discovered the most lovely set of porcelain dishes. There were so many sets of dinnerware it made me wonder, is this something that people frequently toss and later replace?This ring was created by shattering the plates, sanding and smoothing the porcelain, and fabricating a ring to fit the shape of the piece of shattered porcelain. Porcelain is often admired for its delicate qualities and beauty, much like gemstones are in traditional jewelry pieces. After I shattered the dish it became unusable, most would consider it garbage. I wanted to challenge myself to use traditional stone setting techniques with alternative materials. This piece reminds me of Barbara Paganin brooches and necklaces as she uses non-traditional materials in her pieces in memorial of a person/place. This dish probably belonged to a family at one point in time, I wonder how they’re doing now.

11/14

As I’ve been making these objects, I’ve been wondering how I can make each piece cohesive to one another. This is a sketch I drew up today, its a brooch that is inspired by the porcelain plate I shattered. I have other materials from objects that I could experiment with, but I think sticking to similar material and colors will help everything to match. I am going to be prong setting a piece of porcelain into a brooch.

My statement so far…

The reason I wanted to create wearable jewelry created from junk is to not only to bring awareness to the landfill crisis and have a sustainable jewelry practice of my own, but to also critique the lack of sustainability within the jewelry industry, specifically in material mining. Precious metals and gemstones used in traditional jewelry are mined from the earth; mining directly impacts the environment by inducing loss of biodiversity, soil erosion, and contamination of surface water, groundwater, soil, and air (Moraes et al, 2017). While metals are a main component in jewelry making, I believe we can reduce our footprint by using scraps or even melting them down to recycle into new metal sheet. The jewelry industry accounts for over 50% of the worlds gold demand (Goldcouncil 2017). As far as gemstones, they are unnecessary to create a beautiful piece of jewelry and can be replaced with found objects. Many third world countries, like the Dominican Republic of Congo, who are rich in minerals and gemstones have been completely sucked dry by material mining, left exceedingly poor. Instead of providing welfare and resources for people of DRC, the trade of minerals has helped fund the continuation of conflict in the area. The profits from the mineral trade have been used to buy arms, in attempts to regulate the traffic coming in and out of the area and to control the minimal resources that are left (Rotter et al, 2014). The mining industry has not only done financial harm on third world countries, but has caused extensive environmental damage and has threatened basic human rights. An estimated one million children work in the mines, violating international human rights laws (“International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights“ 2022).

During this research project, I have challenged myself to steer away from traditional metalsmithing techniques and lean towards everyday, recycled objects to create fine jewelry. A silver spoon or a porcelain plate wouldn’t necessarily be considered “art” to an art historian, however it shares many qualities to art; it was designed, has aesthetic value, it relates to other material and decorative themes, so how is it not art? This calls material culture into question (Yonan 2011). Everyday and recycled objects can hold aesthetic value or can be transformed in a way that fits within the category of “high art”.

Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). National Overview: Facts and

Figures on Materials, Wastes and Recycling. EPA. Retrieved October

16, 2022, from https://www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about

-materials-waste-and-recycling/national-overview-facts-and-figures

-materials

“International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.” International Covenant on Economic, social and Cultural

Rights, G.A. Res.2200A (XXI), 21 U.N.GAOR supp. (no. 16) at 49, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966), 993 U.N.T.S. 3, entered into

force Jan. 3, 1976. Accessed November 15, 2022. http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/instree/b2esc.htm.

Moraes, C., Carrigan, M., Bosangit, C. et al. Understanding Ethical Luxury

Consumption Through Practice Theories: A Study of Fine Jewellery

Purchases. J Bus Ethics 145,

525–543 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-015-2893-9

Rotter, Julia Patrizia, Peppi-Emilia Airike, and Cecilia Mark-Herbert. “Exploring

Political Corporate Social Responsibility in Global Supply Chains.” Journal

of Business Ethics 125, no. 4 (2014): 581–99. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24702316.

Yonan, Michael. “Toward a Fusion of Art History and Material Culture Studies.” West 86th: A Journal of Decorative Arts, Design History, and Material Culture

18, no. 2 (2011): 232–48. https://doi.org/10.1086/662520.

11/28

This is a recycled bracelet that I created from a pile of washers, bolts, recycled beads, as well as dozens of melted chain links that were accidentally melted. Nothing is wrong with them and they are completely usable, however the “melty” look didn’t work for my past projects—so I thought this would be a great opportunity to use up some scraps as well as some other random things I have laying around my work bench. I am also utilizing the giant tub of recycled glass beads that sits in my desk. They are all factory rejects and there is a flaw in every single bead, however, they are great for jewelry making.

For Our Future : A Sustainable Jewelry Collection

Jewelry is a form of self-expression for most, a way of adorning the body. It makes people feel seen for who they truly are. It can be a symbol of love worn on your ring finger or around your neck, it can be gifted to others or kept for oneself. Due to the size of the industry at large there is something for everyone, with a wide range of precious metals and stones to choose from. It’s hard to see past the beauty of jewelry but if more people were aware of where their jewelry truly comes from, they would most likely have a different opinion.

Every year mining companies pour over 180 million tons of mining waste into waterways, which is more than 1.5 times the waste that major cities send to landfills annually (Earthworks 2022). The waste left from material mining far surpasses the mountains of trash sitting in the landfill, which ultimately illuminates the gravity of this issue. Fine jewelry requires materials like gemstones and precious metals to be extracted from the earth; However, the material mining process directly impacts the environment by inducing loss of biodiversity, soil erosion, and contamination of surface water, groundwater, soil, and air (Moraes et al,. 2017). It also implants toxic chemicals like mercury and cyanide into the earth which are used to separate gold from the ore. To put this into perspective, 20 tons of toxic waste are generated through the production of one 0.333 ounce gold ring (Earthworks 2022). So, why is no one talking about this issue that is significantly bigger than the mountains of trash in our landfills? My guess is because this mostly takes place outside of the United States. Many third world countries, like the Dominican Republic of Congo, who are rich in minerals and gemstones have been completely sucked dry by material mining, left exceedingly poor. Instead of providing welfare and resources for people of DRC, the trade of minerals has helped fund the continuation of conflict in the area. The profits from the mineral trade have been used to buy arms, in attempts to regulate the traffic coming in and out of the area and to control the minimal resources that are left (Rotter et al, 2014). The mining industry has not only done financial harm to third world countries, but has caused extensive environmental damage and has threatened basic human rights. An estimated one million children work in the mines, violating international human rights laws (“International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights'' 2022). Not only are traditional metalsmithing materials generally unsustainable, but rather costly as well. This is because the demand for precious metals and stones is only skyrocketing. The jewelry industry accounts for over 50% of the world's gold demand (Goldcouncil 2017).

Why do I care about this issue? Because making jewelry has consumed my life for the past two years and is most certainly my passion in this existence; therefore, I feel like I have an obligation to be intentional and sustainable when choosing materials. The amount of hours I've put into making as well as the money spent on materials is hard to wrap my head around. After learning more about the truth of the jewelry industry, I was inspired to get creative and challenge myself to use recycled and repurposed materials to create a collection of jewelry. I full heartedly believe that you don’t need these precious materials to create beautiful jewelry.

I began to experiment mostly with materiality. At first, I was focused on finding things on the street or by the dumpster. I would take them back to my studio, and would place them next to bits of scrap metal to see how the materials interact with one another. These found “objects” would be pieces of glass, plastic, cardboard, etc. that had an interesting hue, texture, or overall form. The only way to combine these materials is through some sort of cold connection, I obviously cannot apply fire to plastic and expect something refined and lovely. I was mostly using rivets to connect my materials in this first round of experiments which was working fine, however, I wasn’t loving the way they were reading in the context of fine jewelry. In material culture, humans naturally categorize materials into different classes based on our everyday experience. Obviously, things like plastic and cardboard are placed into lower classes as opposed to things like porcelain, metal, and sparkling gemstones (Yonan 2011).

After my first round of experiments, I wanted to find materials of a higher class. The chances of running into these material objects on the street is unlikely, so I went to Arc Thrift and picked out a few porcelain plates that caught my eye, some which were already chipped or broken. Although I did purchase these plates for under five dollars, I am arguing that they are still found as I gave them a home and a new purpose. Besides the materials I bought and repurposed, I decided to also utilize the things I have laying around my studio bench. A tub of recycled glass beads, each one different from the other and flawed in some way (they are all reject beads from craft stores), a pile of washers, nuts, bolts, and other hardware goodies, along with the dozens of chain links for necklaces that were accidentally melted when I applied to much heat with the torch. I also utilized a bunch of old chains I have in my own jewelry collection that were either too tangled or broken and unable to be worn. After talking to local jeweler in Fort Collins, Nikki Atkinson, I was pleased to hear that the company Rio Grande is a trusted and sustainable supplier. I have been purchasing silver from Rio since I began metalsmithing, but I was unaware that they were a sustainable company as they are one of the largest metal suppliers out there. After learning this, I purchased a small amount of silver for this final project.

Once I had all my materials for the final project, it was time to apply my research to jewelry making. The first piece I completed was a porcelain set ring. I broke the porcelain plates outside of my studio with a brass hammer contained in a plastic bag. I didn’t have much control over the shape of the porcelain shards as they were shattered, but I was able to refine the shape using a jeweler's file and coarse sandpaper. I used the rolling mill to thin out the silver sheet metal that I purchased in order to make bezel wire to house the porcelain pieces. A bezel is a sort of cup that holds a stone in traditional metalsmithing. The bezel has to fit the perimeter of the stone exactly so when the stone is set in place, it will not move or fall out upon wear. Once the bezel was prepped, it was soldered onto a base plate with a ring shank. After soldering, the porcelain was ready to be set in the ring. Stonesetting is a technique that traditionally utilizes gemstones; because of the unsustainable nature of material mining, I decided to substitute gems with porcelain for this piece. Once the fit of the bezel was exact, I used a tool to push the metal onto the porcelain which ensures it will stay in place.

The same stone setting technique was used for a part of the necklace as well, except the porcelain shards are much tinier which requires much more precision. For the necklace, I used the unwearable chains and cut segments of them to piece my necklace together. I wanted the necklace and bracelet to have an eclectic look, utilizing different materials and textures to illuminate the fact that my jewelry collection is upcycled. I connected the old chains to paper clips, recycled glass beads, and melted chainlinks to achieve the look I wanted. I added the porcelain set charm to the necklace which really tied the piece together. For the bracelet I used a similar approach. I once again utilized old chains, melted links, beads, porcelain, safety pins, as well as a bunch of hardware goodies to piece together the bracelet. The necklace and bracelet have a similar look as I started each piece with the same goal in mind. I decided what element was connected to what based on their shape, color, and texture. Each piece took a lot of trial and error, it was a puzzle for me to complete; I spent a lot of time deconstructing and reconstructing each of them until I felt the balance was right.

The pair of earrings was something completely different. Instead of working with a plethora of textures and materials, I worked only with bits of plastic from my favorite snack container and sterling silver wire. The earrings involved a lot of material exploration along with trial and error. I started by cutting up little bits of plastic into petal-like shapes. My goal was to make them look like flowers, so I needed to find a way to make the petals look free flowing and organic which was the opposite of how the plastic was behaving naturally. I first tried melting the petals with a heat gun but I wasn’t achieving the look I wanted, so I switched to a natural gas and oxygen torch to lightly melt them. The torch gave me the look I wanted and allowed me to further manipulate the plastic as it became softer and more malleable. I poked holes in the tops of the petals so they could be strung along the wire. I melted the end of the silver wire to create a small ball which will hold the petals securely. Since this process involved minimal material, I wanted to put my energy into designing the shape of the sterling ear wire. I believe I designed the earring in a way that best showcases the plastic flower petals as they are the focal point of this piece.

My second field of study is Entrepreneurship and Innovation; when beginning this project, I was unsure of how I could combine my focus in metalsmithing and jewelry with my business minor. After much deliberation, I realized I needed to find my reason why. I knew I wanted to create a collection of jewelry, but I needed a reason to be making it besides my overall love for the craft. I opened my eyes to the world around me looking for a problem to solve. The environment immediately came to mind; we live in a consumerist society that is always over buying. I thought about our landfills and the mountains of waste that are seeping into our waterways and soil, but I wanted to hone in on something a bit more specific. I started researching something I was a bit more familiar with, the jewelry industry. What I found was that the issue of material mining is one much larger than our landfills. Hundreds of tons of toxic waste resulting from material mining are dumped directly into our environment each year, which is almost double the amount of waste in our landfills. The contaminated water from mining is called acid mine drainage (AMD); in addition to contaminated drinking water, the AMD contaminants such as mercury, cyanide, and heavy metals, find their way into the food chain which in turn has been making animals and humans sick for generations (Earthworks 2022). Metal mining was the number one toxic polluter in the United States in 2010 and is actively responsible for 1.5 billion tons of toxic waste annually, which is more than forty percent of all reported toxic releases (Earthworks 2022).

Why is this information important? Because it is directly impacting our livelihoods overtime and has detrimental effects on our environment. The truth behind the jewelry industry isn’t something that many people are aware of, as it's masked by sparkling gemstones and precious metals; however these materials do not seem as beautiful after finding out how they’ve been extracted from the earth. This is why I decided to create a collection of jewelry from recycled and repurposed materials, to shed light on the large issue of material mining and to adopt a sustainable way of making within my own practice. Moving forward, I plan to continue using recycled and repurposed materials to create beautiful jewelry and will encourage other makers to do the same.

“Environmental Impacts of Gold Mining.” Earthworks, May 28, 2022.

https://earthworks.org/issues/environmental-impacts-of-gold-mining/.

“International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.” International Covenant on

Economic, social and Cultural Rights, G.A. Res.2200A (XXI), 21 U.N.GAOR supp. (no.

16) at 49, U.N. Doc. A/6316 (1966), 993 U.N.T.S. 3, entered into