It's no mistake that we go to great lengths to ensure that we are creating ethical jewelry you can feel good about wearing.
Eco-conscious Designs
Beth’s designs are crafted to intentionally reduce waste. We use local and recycled materials, which reduces the amount of emissions and mining necessary to create our jewelry. We efficiently lay out our templates, and melt down the metal scraps for use in the casting studio. We even save all dustpans full of sweeps, and every few years we send it all off to be refined back into usable metal.
Using Recycled Metals
As we said before, using recycled materials can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, conserve energy expended in mining, and protect our beautiful earth! Precious metals are simple to melt down and reuse, and there is a continuous supply available. Our silver, copper, brass, and gold are derived from things like previously used jewelry and electronics. Most of our copper was salvaged from the old White Pine Mine near Ontonagon.
Ethical Diamonds
We use only certified recycled diamonds. Our classic white diamonds are sourced from previously made jewelry, and the remainder is recycled industrial diamonds. Industrial diamonds are used in processes like drilling and cutting and are usually discarded after a given amount of time. We're able to give these rustic beauties a second life in our jewelry!
The only way to be 100% certain that diamonds are eco-friendly and ethical is to purchase recycled or lab created stones. We prefer the natural look of stones from the earth, and so it was an easy choice to choose recycled!
Our diamonds are purchased from a reputable vendor who tests, grades and re-introduces the stones into the supply chain where we are able to then incorporate them into gorgeous new pieces.
Business Standards
In addition to sourcing our materials from companies who abide by strong ethics, we are a company with strong ethics. It is very important for us to maintain a business that is beneficial to its employees, community, and environment.
Our products are handmade using traditional metalsmithing practices in the United States. Our shop and studio are located in Marquette, Michigan. At this time, our staff has grown to include eight local artists, many of who graduated from Northern Michigan University. Beth Millner Jewelry employees are paid fair wages for our time. Our work environment is safe, healthy, and flexible so that we may all tend to our needs outside the office. Get to know more about each staff member here, or check out our staff blog post.
We understand that our daily activities impact the world around us and because of this have grown this business from a foundation of strong ethical practices. Follow more of our daily activities on Facebook and Instagram!