Brand values

At Paper2pearls I design and make jewellery and gifts by re-purposing and recycling materials that would otherwise likely be destined for landfill, or to put it another way I make jewellery from rubbish, specialising in reusing old paper from old books and sheet music.

Below I have gone into more details about how I source materials, what I use and how I pack and ship items.

It is a statement of where I am now and so I regularly review it..

I am proud to have been awarded plastic free champion status for my business and i am all a member of Blue Planet

I have teamed up with Ecologi so that a tree is planted for each order I receive.

Suppliers

I source my supplies in a number of ways including the following:

Charity shops
eBay, Etsy
Swapping items with other jewellery makers.
Family and friends who save items for me.
The precious metals I use are from a British company with clear ethical policies in place and the sterling silver wire I use to make my earring hooks is made from recycled silver.

Materials and making

Materials:
Most of my jewellery will be made using repurposed, vintage or natural materials. This may include the following:

Old books (ones that have come, or are close to to the end of their life as being suitable for reading).
I also recycle old plastic bottles, dvds, HDPE plastic e.g. bottle tops and can tabs.
Vintage and recycled beads and embroidery threads.
Natural materials including flowers, and beetle wings.
I use wings from Elytra beetles which are a traditional food in Thailand and for hundreds of years the wings have been used for embroidery and jewellery making. As other foods became available and farming practices changed they became less wide spread and it became clear that they played a key role in the eco-structure of the native environment.Today farmers are encouraged to "farm" them and after they die at the end of their life cycle the wings are collected and sold thus helping the environment and the farmers. I buy my wings direct from Thailand so the money goes into their economy.
I aim to use the minimum of synthetic products as these are byproducts of the petrochemical industry. Unfortunately I have been unable to find suitable environmentally friendly varnish and glues but the search for these continues!
I work from home in my own jewellery studio at the bottom of my garden. My electricity supplier supplies hundred percent renewable energy.
I drive a hybrid car which means that my petrol use is much reduced.

Packaging and delivery

Paper envelopes made from recycled paper.
Business cards made from plain card so they can be recycled and the use of QR codes to replace business cards at craft markets.
Biodegradable stickers supplied by a small UK based business.
Ensuring any paper used for gift wrapping is recycled and unbleached.
Cardboard boxes for posting items in. I also recycle boxes and padded envelopes that I receive.
I use natural raffia, jute and brown paper tape to secure and seal packaging and parcels.
Mail-order items are sent via Royal Mail.