Sustainability
At Ayr Tan we believe that materials should be kept out of landfills and we should aim to find ways to design and source materials that have a low impact on our planet and the air we breath.
We have chosen to make our jewellery out of sustainable materials: Recycled acrylic (cast out of pre- and post-consumer acrylic) or eco friendly natural Linoleum, combined with recycled or responsibly sourced 925 sterling silver and 14k gold-filled items made from recycled gold. All items are designed, laser cut and assembled by hand in our small studio in Paris, France.
Read more about our sustainable materials below:
100% RECYCLED ACRYLICRecycled acrylic is made from 100% recycled pre and post consumer acrylic (PMMA products) and cast into new acrylic sheets. It significantly reduces water consumption, waste, CO2 emissions and saves energy. At the end of its lifecycle acrylic can be recycled over and over again.
LINOLEUM
The extra thin matt Linoleum consists of raw materials such as linseed oil, resin, wood, limestone colour flour and nature-identical pigments. It is environmentally friendly and biodegradable after its lifetime.
RECYCLED SILVER
Mining for precious raw materials has a devastating impact on the environment, including greenhouse gases emissions and soil contamination. Furthermore the mining can also have negative impacts on the local people, losing their homes, being displaced and prevented from accessing clean land and water. While using recycled silver instead of virgin silver, valuable raw materials are saved and 97% of CO2 emissions are reduced as well as the demand for newly mined silver.
RESPONSIBLY SOURCED SILVER
The silver is coming from responsible sources, approved by the Responsible Jewellery Council, which members are respecting human, labor, environmental, mining practices and product information rights.
GOLD-FILLED (FROM RECYCLED GOLD)
The gold-filled finish is a widely used treatment in the USA, where a thick layer of 14k gold is bonded by pressure to a base metal such as brass. To qualify as gold filled, the layer of gold must be at least 1/20 of the total weight of the product or 5% of the weight of the entire article. This makes gold filled items much more resistant. In comparison, many gold plated items have less than 0.01% gold and might wear off very quickly.
AND HOW SUSTAINABLE IS IT?
The gold used for this technique is only recycled gold. Which is really important to us, because like this, precious raw materials are saved with less demand for newly mined gold and CO2 emissions are reduced by over 99.9% (no joke). The gold filled materials and parts are manufactured in USA, so no child labour or unethical working conditIons are involved. Furthermore the lifetime of gold filled jewellery is much longer than plated ones, as it can last for many years, some of them even a lifetime when handled correctly.
PACKAGING
To make e-commerce as eco-friendly as possible, we tried our very best to choose the most sustainable materials.
GIFT BOX
All Ayr Tan jewellery come in a gift box which is made out of FSC® certified cardboard. The paper contains residues from organic products, which replace 15% of the wood pulp. It is also made from a by-product from corn production and the glue is water-based. These boxes are produced in Denmark which is saving a lot of CO2 emissions compared to scenarios where they would be shipped from outside of Europe. They come with non-tarnish filler and eco-friendly, acid free tissue paper. To protect the gift boxes on their journey to you they are wrapped in small paper bags which is made out of FSC® certified paper. The boxes are spacious enough to fit our jewellery but small and light enough to be sent via letter, which is not only cost friendly it saves a lot of CO2 emissions.
JEWELLERY POUCH
The pouch which is coming with all hoop earrings, bracelets and necklaces is made from recycled plastic bottles and protects your jewellery from scratches.
CARDS
All our cards are printed on 100% recycled paper locally here in Paris.
MAILER
Instead of using bubble wrap filled mailers, which are terrible for the environment, we are using hard cardboard envelopes. These are made out of 100% recycled and FSC certified cardboard where the gift box sits so firmly in it, that additional filling material is unnecessary.