Traceability, Sustainability, and Circularity as Mechanism in the Luxury Jewelry Industry Creating Emotional Added Value

Abstract

In the past, designers and artisans had changed and improved the way people live; these days they are recycling trends with little creativity and imagination (Edelkoort 2016). In this paper, I would like to claim that designers should use technological achievements with much awareness and consciousness for the surrounding in order to influence the future for the better. Observing the ever-decreasing prices of apparel items leads one to ponder, how could it be that such prices are tenable? The linear production known from the industrial revolution must change. In the last decades, the fashion industry became more aware of the damages caused as a result of exploitative production, and increasingly more certifications and governmental regulations are used. Unfortunately, this is not the case with the jewelry industry, which has yet to initiate reform. A new set of jewelry criteria, laws, and certifications are in need as their current absence. As a Master’s graduate for sustainability in fashion and design, I was in the midst of my research on the jewelry industry, trying to understand and decipher the complex supply chain of practices and processes—from material to making and beyond. The raw materials (precious metals and stones)—where are they sourced? Who is mining them and in which conditions?  Which additional materials are being used? What kind of processes being made? What are the outputs and impacts of these processes? Finalizing the materials, preparing them for production—which chemicals are used? What are the impacts on the environment, the workers, and the communities that surround these sites? What changes could be made in order to minimize these effects? Designing and making the products from handmade to 3D printing—which production methods are more efficient? What are the outputs of each technology? What are the impacts of recycling the materials? Could recycling become on a large scale creating a more circular economy? Following the issues above, I used several research methods: in-depth interviews with knowledgeable experts, designers, production employees, and material suppliers, content analysis of international and private-written reports, advertisement content analysis, and implementing these questions on my own M.A. final project products. Based on the gathered knowledge and information in this research, I propose a methodology through which brands and designers could examine sustainable, traceable, and circular practices, and how to implement them. Since many designers and product developers are not even exposed to issues like sustainability as part of their training, these aspects could not be taken into account while planning these products. On the other hand, 80% of the environmental impact of a product is decided on the designer table and this is the main purpose of this methodology. Accumulating this database accessible to the industry helps to achieve this ethical shift, hopefully creating a strong connection between all the links in the luxury jewelry supply chain to achieve a sustainable, traceable, and circular industry.

The research conducted in collaboration with Wikirate project as part of an M.A. thesis.