Reflective Images Says No! – To All Dirty Silver
Company’s Fair Trade International Manufacturing Will Now Be Eco-Friendly
Santa Fe, NM: May 29, 2008: Starting in July, 2008, all jewelry manufactured by Reflective Images will be done with 100% recycled precious metal.
The most toxic element of our supply chain has been internationally mined silver,” said Marc Choyt, President of Reflective Images. “We facilitated an agreement between Hoover and Strong, manufacturer of recycled Harmony Metals, and our international supplier, PT Kapitmas.”
Hoover and Strong is widely acknowledged as the jewelry sector’s most reputable, ecologically responsible metal supply house. PT Kapitmas, a firm employing 250 people that works on a fair trade basis, is to become Hoover and Strong’s exclusive Bali distributor.
Until now, most eco-friendly, ethical jewelry has targeted the luxury market. “No Dirty Gold is becoming an established mantra, but silver mining can be equally toxic,” said Choyt. “When eco-friendly jewelry becomes the norm for the middle class, our target market, we will see the greatest environmental impact.”
Reflective Images already runs its Santa Fe studio on green energy, purchases carbon offsets, and uses compact fluorescent lighting and recycled products. Though their manufacturing in Santa Fe and internationally will now be made with recycled precious metal, the company, with its thousands of inventory pieces from dozens of sources, is still striving to more sustainable.
“Reducing environmental impact and moving toward fair trade has been a complex puzzle,” said Choyt. “But our transparency FRE system allows our customers to understand the impact of their purchase.”
FRE means Fair, Responsible, Eco-Friendly. On Reflective Images website, www.celticjewelry.com, customers can trace the origin of components and labor practices that make up a piece of jewelry. This “open source” transparent tracking system is the first of its kind, and it’s offered for free to any jewelry manufacturer.
Choyt authors the trade and consumer resource, www.fairjewelry.org, google’s top rated “fair trade jewelry” website. He published the Ethical Jewelry Handbook, a free resource e-book for jewelers; and spearheads the Madison Dialogue’s International Manufacturing Standards Committee which is developing standards for fair trade jewelry manufacturing.
Choyt acknowledged that supply chain consolidation is expensive and his activism takes massive amounts of time. “The efforts are worth it for the environment,” he said. “Plus, jewelry is an emotional product. No one would wear a ring knowing that it caused tons of toxic sludge.”
Contact info: Marc Choyt 505-988-7393 Ex. 12 or [email protected]
