GIVEAWAY! Wildlife inspired sustainable jewellery brand Jana Reinhardt – WIN a FREE Necklace.

Love jewellery, but worry about the impact that buying a new necklace, ring or earrings could have on the planet? Meet Jana Reinhardt jewellery, an ethical and eco-friendly brand who create all their pieces as sustainably as possible. You can even win yourself one of their beautifully designed, gorgeous pieces! Read to the end to find out how!     

The brand define sustainable jewellery as products that have had a minimal impact on the planet in each stage of the production process, from mining, to manufacture, packaging and shipping. Here five things the brand recommend looking out for if you want to ensure your new piece of jewellery leaves as small a footprint on the world around us as possible.

  

1. Don’t buy jewellery from a fast fashion brand:

As with so many environmental problems, overconsumption is a major driver of the jewellery industry’s negative impact on our world. Did you know the average 40-year-old woman owns over £6,000 worth of jewellery? Including £3,000 worth which she will never wear? And much of this is costume jewellery, often worn just a handful of times before being thrown away. 

The gold and silver plating on cheap jewellery can quickly fade leaving the greenish-tinged base metal exposed. You fall out of love with it, chuck it in the bin and it ends up in landfill. The metal and plastic don’t biodegrade and end up releasing toxins into the air and water.  

This is just one of the reasons why Jana Reinhardt don’t gold plate our jewellery anymore. Opting for a piece made from sterling silver and solid gold means they can be polished if they tarnish. So, they won’t ever permanently discolour, and you’ll never need to get rid of them. 

As a brand, Jana Reinhardt has always been about making thoughtful, inspired jewellery rather than throwaway fashion-led items. Their intention is to create forever pieces that you’ll want to wear on repeat.   

Their price points might seem expensive compared to some mass-market brands, but that’s because they make everything by hand using traditional techniques. You’re buying jewellery made with superior craftsmanship and materials, you really do get what you pay for! 

2. Choose jewellery made from recycled precious metals:

The mining of precious metals is associated with all kinds of damage to the environment. Some of the chemicals used during mining can pollute the air, and metal mining requires massive amounts of water, which can damage local ecosystems and indigenous populations. Mining might also cause soil erosion and releases a large volume of greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. 

Then there’s the human cost of mining: many workers aren’t paid a fair wage and are forced to work in unsafe conditions. An estimated one million children are working in mines around the world, inhaling dust and dangerous chemicals which damage their health. Entire communities can be displaced when mines are established. 

This is why Jana Reinhardt now exclusively use recycled metals, from suppliers certified by the Responsible Jewellery Council, rather than take the risk that the metals they make their jewellery from have exploited people or the environment. 

If you buy something silver or gold from Jana Reinhardt, you can feel reassured that the precious metals haven’t been freshly mined to create your jewellery. The brand guarantee there is zero newly mined metal in their pieces. Buying recycled precious metals means you are re-using a resource that’s already out in the world. Plus, recycled metals don’t require the use of cyanide solvents to separate them and aren’t associated with environmentally damaging processes. Phew! 

3. Pay attention to packaging:

When you buy new jewellery, it’s not just your ring, necklace or bracelet that can have an impact on the world. The pretty box, soft foam pad keeping everything in place, and the bubble wrap it’s been packed in can all have negative effects on the environment too. 

Have you heard that 40% of the total plastic used in the world is attributable to packaging? Most of it ends up in landfill, where it can take up to 1000 years to biodegrade. Some plastics will never break down and we’re stuck with them forever. 

8 million tonnes of plastic are dumped into oceans every year. Plastic pollution threatens wildlife, alters ecosystems, and poses risks to human health. It’s estimated most humans have microplastics in their lungs. Microplastics were detected in the ice caps in Antarctica for the first time in 2022, a worrying sign.   

This is why Jana Reinhardt jewellery boxes are made from 100% recyclable card and paper. There are no plastic/foam pads, ribbons, or cushions in our boxes. They use vegan felt pads in their packaging instead, which sit on a folded card that is cut locally. They then pack the box with tissue paper. 

The brand’s cartons and printed materials are all 100% recyclable, and they even use recyclable paper tape.  Their gift-wrapping ribbon is now made from bamboo which means they are100% plastic free – hurrah! 

4. Consider the brand’s carbon footprint: Everything a jewellery manufacturer does has an impact on the CO2 in the atmosphere, from the air they breathe as they work on your piece of jewellery, to the electricity used to power tools, and the fuel used by the delivery van that brings you your jewellery.

It’s impossible to counterbalance the carbon created by these activities entirely, but Jana Reinhardt are very mindful of it, so they decided to join Ecologi in 2022, who plant trees to reduce carbon pollution and fund climate projects across the globe. In just over 3 years, Ecologi has planted 44.9 million trees and reduced 2.1 million tonnes of CO2e.

Whenever Jana Reinhardt sell a piece of jewellery, they plant a tree with Ecologi. This means that every time you buy something from Jana Reinhardt, they’re taking steps to offset the carbon created when they make your jewellery and ship it to you.

Plus – as Vegans, Jana Reinhardt are 100% plant-powered. So, the food they eat to fuel themselves has much less of a CO2 footprint than meat eaters. High-five!   

5. Choose a brand that gives back:

As well as making our jewellery as sustainable as possible, Jana Reinhardt made a choice a couple of years ago to use their jewellery skills to help charities and causes.

The Animal Wellbeing collection started life in 2020 with an Orangutan pendant that we created to raise funds and awareness for the brilliant charity OVAID, which sends vets to orangutan rescue groups and centres in Indonesia and Malaysia, and provides veterinary equipment and medicines. For every pendant sold Jana Reinhardt donate £20 to OVAID – it isn’t megabucks, but it’s a start, and every little helps. 

From the Orangutan pendant, the collection has grown and grown. Jana Reinhardt now work with 12 different animal welfare charities, from The Sloth Conservation Foundation to PETA, and The Badger Trust.

 Supporting these organisations means that when you buy from Jana Reinhardt you aren’t just bagging yourself a gorgeous piece of jewellery, you’re also donating to brilliant charities that are making a difference and helping vulnerable animals. 

Win your own piece of sustainably handmade Jana Reinhardt jewellery: a stunning hummingbird necklace: 

Jana Reinhardt has teamed up with Eco News to offer all our readers the chance to win one of their bestselling pieces: this dainty handmade hummingbird necklace, worth £89.

The pretty pendant is made from recycled silver and comes with a matching adjustable chain, that can be worn at 16 or 18 inches (41 or 46cm).  A beautiful, understated necklace, featuring a finely carved hummingbird, there are so many details to fallin love with on this one-of-a-kind pendant. 

Hummingbirds are believed to symbolise joy and lightness of being – things you’ll feel whenever you wear this gorgeous piece! 

To enter, head to our social pages – ENDS SUNDAY 16TH OF JUNE, MIDNIGHT.

Terms and conditions:

1. This prize draw is open to all UK residents aged 18 or over.  

2. The prize detailed: 1 x sterling silver necklace cannot be exchanged for goods, or towards the purchase of goods.

3. The prize cannot be exchanged for cash, or replaced if lost or damaged. 

4. Prizes must be taken as stated and cannot be deferred. 

5. The prize winner must respond and provide the delivery address within 1 month of being notified they have won the giveaway 

6. The decision of the judge is final and no correspondence will be entered into