Best sustainable jewelry brands: eco-conscious pieces to shop now

If you're after the best sustainable jewelry brands look no further. Our jewelry experts have trawled the web in search of jewelry brands that are not only stylish but have some innovating and ground-breaking sustainable practices.

Sustainable jewelry brands are on the rise. As technology advances and consumer expectations become more environmentally focused, jewelry brands all over the globe are offering beautiful, practical, and most importantly, eco-friendly options.

Whether you're looking for "keep forever" rings, stylish layering necklaces, or conscious versions of the best huggie earrings, our review round-up of some of the best sustainable jewelry brands and their products will advise you on your next purchase. 

For us, when it comes to sustainable jewelry brands, our go-to brands include Milly Grace and Emma Aitchison. Aitchison hand-crafts all of her nature-inspired pieces from eco-silver in her studio in the English countryside. Her pieces are both striking and contemporary in design but with enough classicism to make them truly great investment pieces. But like the best sustainable fashion brands, there's plenty to choose from when it comes to ethical and eco-friendly jewelry and baubles. Read on!

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We love that founder Tansy Haak is inspired by the simple beauty that can be found in nature. This is why you’ll find a lot of fine chains with singular pendants featuring engravings or designs that reflect the moon, stars, or sun throughout her sustainable jewelry brand.

Haak uses recycled silver and gold, or ethnically sourced materials and all pieces are hand-made in her studio. We find that when it comes to these niche brands, they offer really good services for customers: at Kind, they offer free repairs for your jewels which means it extends their life span. Kind is partnered with One Tree Planted, so every time a purchase is made from the website, a tree is planted somewhere in the world through the charity. The pieces are of beautiful quality and would appeal to a wide range of people with their effortless aesthetic. 

Emma Aitchison is leaps ahead of the pack when it comes to sustainability and her commitment to the plant. Everything is considered and taken into account including the metals she uses, to the packaging and transportation. 

The unique nature of the jewelry’s designs is truly beautiful and will have you fascinated looking at their twists and turns the more you wear them. She specializes in cool, minimalist pieces like chunky stacking rings that look powerful when worn alone or paired with other pieces.

We’re also big fans of Emma Aitchison’s packaging and presentation. Pieces arrive in a soft, slightly textured jewelry box that has been monogrammed, with a matching canvas bag and lovely burnt orange, illustrated tissue paper. She includes a small bundle of wire wool to help you remove tricky patches of dirt or blemishes and a polishing cloth and a thoughtful note on what inspired your new piece.  

Read the full Emma Aitchison review

Layering fans, this one is for you. Milly Grace is a one-stop shop for layering necklaces at brilliant prices for the eco-conscious. These on-trend pieces won't break the bank and are super pretty and dainty. We love the presentation too, each purchase is presented in an eco-friendly gift box with the brand’s logo embossed in gold on the outside and a cute, illustrated thank you card.

Plus, founder Emily Robinson is passionate and enthusiastic about the family-run nature of the business and is always keen for customers to reach out and connect. We love Milly Grace’s fine, gold necklaces, which look great worn together.

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There’s a lot that makes this brand special. It’s clear that the founders, Annabel Cox and Georgina Fuggle, pour their passion into creating a product that’s symbolic of friendship and connection, but they’re keen to give back, too.

The brand is completely transparent about the way its jewelry is made. Even their gift boxes explain that they only work with a well-established producer and use recycled materials. Any metals they use that aren’t recycled have an environmental certification and Little by Little offers repairs on jewelry (for a fee) so that your piece can be re-worn again and again.

Little by Little also has a strong social impact focus and has partnered with the Luminary Bakery, which supports disadvantaged women with employment and emotional support. But aside from all this is the fact that these are pretty, delicate pieces that look great worn every day. 

Pandora may need no introduction (the Danish brand is a global phenomenon) but what we do need to highlight is the brand's conscious effort to give back to the environment. Pandora prides itself in its sustainability, using eco-factories and recycled materials to create its products. 

While we all love diamonds, they're incredibly harmful to the planet, which is why Pandora uses man-made diamonds, known as cubic zirconia, for most of their sparkly jewels, including their famous charms. On top of that, 100-percent of the gold used in pieces like Pandora's stackable rings is recycled as well as 88-percent of the silver, too. This stunning Sparkling Daisy Flower Crown Ring is the perfect example of their sustainable offerings. 

For the products that include the real deal, they only buy from certified, reputable suppliers, as they're part of the RJC, Responsible Jewellery Council. 

Wolf & Moon’s big selling point is their playful aesthetic. The brand is founded by Hannah Davis, who originally won over a cult following at London markets with her geometric designs and bright color palettes.

Now, the brand’s designs stretch far and wide—we love the fruit-themed range, which currently includes strawberries, cherries, and peaches. We also rate that the brand uses innovative methods to reduce its carbon footprint such as powering its studio with renewable energy and working with eco-minded company Ecologi to offset carbon emissions and plant a tree for every purchase.

Founder Rhiannon Hart says she’s inspired by architecture, art, interior design, and sculpture when designing her modern, forward-thinking pieces. These creative influences become clear when you look at the breadth of interesting and often abstract rings, necklaces, and earrings on the website. 

Lima Lima’s packaging gives full pizzazz with punchy turquoise and peony pink wrapping. This comes with a cute cotton pouch, illustrated with Lima Lima’s cool metallic branding.

Sustainable jewelry brands: what to look for

In 2021, we understand as consumers that our buying choices shouldn’t come at an expense to the environment, but does shopping sustainably mean that you have to sacrifice on the style stakes?

When it comes to sustainable jewelry brands, we can promise you this isn’t the case. When looking for sustainable jewelry, there are a few things to consider, from how the brand you’re buying into has innovated its business to cut down its impact on the environment to the packaging used and, of course, the quality of design. 

1. What does it mean to be sustainable in jewelry?

First up, don’t confuse being sustainable with ethical. While many brilliant, independent jewelry brands work with charities to empower women, for instance, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the brand is also focused on reducing its impact on the earth. 

When it comes to jewelry brands that claim to put the earth first, you should be looking for those that go above and beyond to reduce their carbon footprint. London-based Wild & Moon, for example, run their studio using renewable energy, while Emma Aitchison has worked to put thorough recycling systems in place so that nothing in her studio is ever wasted.  

A lot of jewelry brands are partnering with environmental charities to help offset their carbon footprint, too. Kind Jewelry work with One Tree Planted and plants a tree every time they sell a piece. It’s also a good idea to think about where you are and order jewelry within your country so that it doesn’t have to be shipped across the world, therefore reducing its carbon footprint. 

2. What materials are good for brands to use?

Sustainable jewelry should ideally use mostly, if not all, recycled materials, whether these be precious metals, wood, or acrylics. Eco silver is rising in popularity and simply means silver that has already been used in one form, and has now been melted down to make another. This process doesn’t affect the look of the metal or make its appearance any less special; it looks brand new. This process continues its lifespan and stems from the demand for mined metals. 

Mining is a huge contributing factor to climate change—it emits greenhouse gases and causes erosion, contamination of water supplies, and destroys wildlife and their habitats. The demand for new precious metals continues to rise, so it’s important to buy with brands that focus on a circular economy and using materials already in use, which applies to gemstones, too. 

3. How sustainable is a brands packaging?

One of the things that people often forget about when buying sustainably is all the bits that we take for granted, like the packaging. Eco-friendly packaging is a must when you’re buying sustainably. 

Most jewelry brands who champion sustainability are keen to shout about having conscious packaging so they’ll probably mention this on their website, but if you’re ever unsure just drop them an email and check. 

The best packaging is recyclable so that you can dispose of it responsibly after it’s arrived, but also is made from FSC-certified or recycled materials, sourced locally, and no extra bits of paper like invoices that could be emailed. 

4. Can sustainable jewelry be stylish too?

Duh, of course they can! Being good to the planet doesn't mean that you can't be stylish too. 

There are plenty of sustainable jewelry brands out there with a diverse range of aesthetics. Layering is a big trend at the moment and brands like Milly Grace have embraced this wholeheartedly with a range of delicate, dainty chains that look great piled on top of each other. They even have a “layering inspiration” section on their website. Lima Lima is all about abstract pieces with interesting, angular shapes based on architecture and art. Or, check out Emma Aitchison’s nature-inspired rings, necklaces, and bracelets which have been created to reflect rippling waves or bubbling magma.