Sustainability

Sustainability and giving back are the core of Soot & Cinders. Here's all the details on our sustainability practices as well as how your purchase does good around the world

How Your Actions Makes a Difference

Your Purchase Gives Back

When you make a purchase at Soot & Cinders, a portion of the proceeds supports eco-projects around the world. 

Here's the breakdown:

• Purchases of $0 - $48.99 = 1 tree planted + 10 kg of CO2 offset
• Purchases of $49 - $74.99 = 1 tree planted + 10 kg of CO2 offset + 20 bees saved 
• Purchases of $75 - $99.99 = 1 tree planted + 10 kg of CO2 offset + 20 bees saved + 10 plastic bottles rescued
• Purchases of $100+ = 1 tree planted + 10 kg of CO2 offset + 20 bees saved + 10 plastic bottles rescued + 1 day of clean water

All eco-impacts are handled through Greenspark. As mentioned above, Greenspark is an online platform that connects people and businesses to verified eco-programs.  

You can read all about the individual eco-programs and projects here.

(If you join GreenSpark through my referral link, you will get an additional 1000 kgs of CO2 removed in your name).

Your Newsletter Subscription Cleans the Ocean

When you subscribe to the Soot & Cinders newsletter, 5 plastic bottles are rescued from the ocean.

This is done through Greenspark, an online platform that connects people and businesses to verified eco-programs. Plastic bottles are removed by Plastic Bank®, who provides employment to members of coastal communities by paying them fair wages to clean up plastic pollution from their environment. 

How Soot & Cinders Creates Products Sustainably

Sustainably Sourced Wood

All wood used in jewelry production is purchased from Ocooch Hardwoods, a small family-run business in the United States. Not only is their wood sustainably sourced, they aim to be a zero-waste company with programs in place to make use of the wood waste they generate.

You can read more about their policies on Ocooch Hardwoods' sustainability page.

Recycled Sterling Silver

All sterling silver used in jewelry production is at least 30% recycled (going up to 100% recycled). Recycled sterling silver has the exact same composition as "regular" sterling silver and is indistinguishable from it.

The only difference is recycled sterling silver does not have to be mined but is taken from pre- and post- consumer sources.

We currently purchase our recycled sterling silver findings from Halstead Jewelry Supplies.

Recyclable and Compostable Packaging

I avoid plastic in the packaging for individual items as well as shipping. We're at about 95% plastic-free (scroll down to "Cotton" Filled Jewelry Boxes for that last 5%), but here's the progress so far:

• Jewelry boxes are made using recycled kraft paper and are recyclable
• Jewelry boxes are tied closed with natural hemp cord from Hemptique
• Backing cards are made from recycled cardstock
• Package inserts are tied together using cotton cord
• Shipping boxes are recyclable cardboard
• Shipping boxes are sealed with paper tape
• Cushioning in the package is recycled shredded crinkle paper

On-Site Recycling

I currently recycle all excess or leftover paper, cardboard, plastic, and metal that arrives with purchased supplies or that is used in producing Soot & Cinders' products. 

Making Items on Demand to Avoid the Landfill

Making large amounts of items in advance is easier, but you risk having excessive stock that ends up in a landfill.

While I keep enough supplies on hand to make larger quantities of products as needed, I don't pre-make large quantities of products. That way, if an item becomes less popular, I don't have a ton of items that have to be thrown away, and those raw supplies can be used to make a new (and hopefully more popular ;-) item.

CO2 Offsets and Energy Usage

All calculated shipping emissions are offset plus some, making shipping carbon positive. 

Another source of CO2 emissions is the website itself. Unfortunately, the pictures and videos needed to show products on e-commerce sites drives up the bandwitdth and data transfer needed to display the page - which in turn drives up energy consumption and emissions.

I'm looking into ways to lower that usage while keeping your customer experience fun and easy-to-use. After the website is in its final form, I will be investing in carbon offsets for it as well.

Withing the workshop itself, we recently switched from an A/C unit and furnace to a more energy-efficient heat pump. Hot water is now provided by an electric heat pump water heater as well.

Future Plans/How I Can Improve

"Cotton" Filled Jewelry Boxes

It can be quite difficult to find "cotton-filled jewelry boxes" that actually contain cotton. Most are polyester or other synthetic fibers. Silly me, when I purchased the boxes I thought when they said "cotton" they meant "cotton." 

Once my current stock of boxes is gone, I will be switching to flat-shipped boxes from EcoEnclose, assembling them in house, and then adding some recycled paper shreds as cushioning. At that point, our packaging will be 100% plastic-free.

Other Improvement Ideas

It can be hard to see areas that need improvement, so that's why I'm totally open to any thoughts or suggestions you might have. If you see an area where Soot & Cinders could improve in sustainability or eco-friendliness, drop me a line at alyssa@sootcinders.com