The Rock Hound Talks Circularity at COP28
At the end of last year I spoke on an expert panel at at COP28 in The Extreme Hangout on the topic of “Round in Circles: a Panel Discussion on the unexpected players resolving fashions final frontier.” As the only jeweller present it was an incredible opportunity to put forward the case for continued improvements to the jewellery supply chain.
I was on this panel alongside Coco Panazza of Cercle, Tanya Mulesa of Cicon, Manny Jackson of Thread Haus Co., and Emma Barber of DGrade, moderated by fashion industry veteran and sustainability change-maker, Mary Fellowes, Founder of GreenWith Studio.
Mainstream fashion is lightyears away from being sustainable, but it is beginning to pivot to circularity. I spoke about how I am thinking about circularity within the jewellery industry, and The Rock Hounds latest sustainable initiative that involves using the recycled silver locked away in retired NHS X-rays.
I think the jewellery industry is inherently unsustainable since we are extracting the Earth’s natural resources of precious metals and gemstones however recycling these fungible materials is easy. Gold and silver can be melted down and refined an infinite number of times and reformed with no loss in quality and gemstones can be unset to be used again. Circularity is beginning to be spoken about in fashion, but in jewellery it has always been the case since virtually all of the precious metals and stones are still in circulation in one form or another.
However, with little regulation it’s hard to ensure no newly mined metal is entering the supply chain so I was hunting for a traceable supply of recycled silver. What I discovered not only ticked that box but went further by helping a separate sector solve their waste issue. Find out more about this process here.
On the fashion industry being one of the greatest polluters in the world Mary Fellows said “it is currently only recycling about 1-2% of its waste whereas up to 85% could be”. Likening the aspiration of a more responsible and circular fashion industry to “Mother natures own perfect system of never wasting anything, everything in nature goes round in circles”. She went on to say “sustainability is a long term journey”, on that The Rock Hound has been on since the start.
An interesting questions posed my Mary was whether customers are put off buying a product if they know it has been created using ‘waste’. Of course we in the jewellery industry know circularly is not a new thing. I think this is where jewellery may even be ahead of the textiles industry in that we continually recycle metals, conscious jewellers recycle even the tiniest filings of gold.
As you know, I now only cast my sterling silver HotRocks Collection in 100% recycled silver from a traceable source of salvaged X-ray silver from the NHS. I have found this is actually a selling point for customers in the UK. We feel like by buying this silver we are investing in the NHS, who are of course paid for providing the machines.
It’s a beautiful story and consumers today want to do good. They want to make the right choices and share those little wins with their communities. I believe we as makers and brands need to strive to offer consumers even more ethical and responsible options so they can shop more sustainably. Managing Director of Betts, Charlie Betts said The Rock Hound ethos on making responsibly, “this ethos is beautifully exemplified by The Rock Hound, and Susi’s exemplary dedication to creating a positive impact. I personally believe that responsible sourcing choices need to be available to everyone in the jewellery industry and not simply to those with the greatest financial clout.”
Attending COP was an exciting and invigorating experience for all the brands who attended. It will forever be a highlight in The Rock Hound history. Now we can only hope that the work done by the big wigs on the climate agreements are honoured and its overall aims are achieved.
Thankfully all the sessions were live-streamed so if you’d like to catch up watch below…