Ethics || Our First Year

Ethics can be a beautiful and ugly space. We’re going to keep it beautiful. Our promise is honesty, not perfection. Whatever we’ve got going on, we'll just keep it real. ㅤ
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Because at the end of the day this is one big radical journey, and we’re still a couple of toddlers learning to walk, we’re probably going to trip all over ourselves at some point. But I feel like as long as we keep it real we can laugh about it, get back up and keep on growing.ㅤ
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We’ve got some pretty rad stuff going on with our packaging, we spend almost as much time on our packaging as we do crafting our pieces. Currently, we're using Kraft paper for most of our boxes and cards and if not we’re using different types of recycled cards, not 100% recycled, we’re probably at around 50%. Although we spend ages choosing the cards and sourcing the materials to craft our box’s with, finding sustainable and ethically aligned supplies that are affordable has taken us forever…
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All our packaging is also 100% recyclable and we also use an Eco-friendly soy based ink for all the artwork and paintings on our boxes and cards.

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Some gems you may find inside is our 100% organic cotton canvas jewellery bags and our polish cloths which are also 100% cotton although not organic and are treated with non-abrasive chemicals, it seems this is industry-standard... Would be good to know what’s really in them though, we’re pretty sure they’re not Eco-friendly. We are creating some stickers that are super eco though! Made from 100% plant-based inks and are 100% certified compostable. Working with an epic little brand bringing these gems to life and will be sneaking into your boxes soon…
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So far we’re at 100% for our recycled silver we have a full blog on this here as well! This almost took us to bankruptcy and we almost completely gave up on this but we’ve now got all the certificates as well.
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Behind the curtains! We’re using some sneaky little 100% cornstarch compostable zip-lock bags, so the pieces don’t get tarnished while waiting to be sent to your hands. This is pretty rad as almost every silversmith, everywhere in the world does not do this and also won’t tell you there’s a bunch of plastic each piece is kept in. But doing this and a few other things we’ve managed to keep our supply, creating and shipping chain 100% plastic-free.

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To be honest, there are a lot of wish-washy suppliers as well and you have to really vet them or get stuff tested and it has taken a lot of time just to get here. But we’re taking the steps each and every day and leaping over pitfalls! 
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Although we're not yet carbon neutral and ship stuff from all over the world and to people all over the world. We also use some silicon in our crafting process which is not ideal although almost all using the "ancient wax carving technique also do, (just won't tell you). We are not making much of a contribution to the masses of waste around the world yet either.
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We want to make this about the achievements as much as the humps hurdles and dreams, and hopefully, if we share where we are at, you guys can cheer us along. We want to create stunning crafts that most people can afford but it's a tough balancing act that has almost had our asses handed to us a few times. That’s it so far! With time hopefully, we’re changing the world ;)!
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If you’re in a similar space feel free to hit us up for ethical contacts or guidance. Muchos gracias!
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The SD fam x