The world's largest jewelry brand has announced it has achieved a sustainability goal over a year ahead of target, with only recycled precious metals to be sourced for its products from now on.
Pandora, which has reached a global audience thanks in part to its popular charm bracelets, revealed this will allow the company to avoid the release of 58,000 tons of carbon dioxide every year from mining practices.
The company said that is equivalent to the pollution created by the energy use of 11,000 homes — assuming they don't rely on renewable sources, of course — or what's released from the exhaust pipes of 6,000 dirty-fuel-powered cars.
"Allowing time for the depletion of existing inventory of metals, Pandora expects that it will craft all new jewelry with 100% recycled silver and gold from the second half of 2024," the company revealed.
According to Pandora, recycled silver reduces carbon pollution by as much as two-thirds when compared to mining for new materials, while recycling gold produces less than 1% of the pollution created from extracting gold.
"Precious metals can be recycled forever without any loss of quality," Pandora CEO Alexander Lacik said in a news release. "Silver originally mined centuries ago is just as good as new, and improved recycling can significantly reduce the climate footprint of the jewelry industry."
As Reuters observed, Pandora's annual report revealed that it produced an estimated 264,224 tonnes of carbon dioxide through its supply chain in 2022. The move to using recycled materials is expected to cut that figure to 58,000.
MIT professor of engineering Yang Shao-Horn told a jewelry industry summit in 2023 that 95% of the carbon dioxide generated by the sector comes from the production of metals, with gold, silver, and platinum responsible for high levels of pollution compared to other metals.
While it is of course best for the planet to avoid a level of purchasing that would be unnecessary and wasteful, everyone is entitled to express themselves with jewelry. By buying Pandora jewelry rather than items from brands that haven't made similar climate commitments, you can demonstrate that this type of practice is commercially viable and there is demand for more eco-friendly items. That might encourage other businesses that are a little behind in their sustainability policies to step up their games for the benefit of the planet.
But other jewelry businesses are already making a difference, with Anabela Chan's London-based boutique using lab-grown diamonds rather than gemstones that rely on mining and exploitative working conditions. Meanwhile, Precious Plastic is turning plastic waste into jewelry and other items such as furniture and lighting fixtures.
Shopping for jewelry at thrift stores can also reduce the polluting impact of new items that require mining for precious metals and gemstones, and you can pick up an elegant bargain if you're really lucky.
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