Eco-Friendly Accessories
Written by Kelly Louise Marshall
As you will probably be aware of by now, here at One Wear Freedom we are all about helping the planet by becoming sustainable, as part of the Fashion Rental Revolution. However, what about when it comes to accessories? It isn’t possible for health reasons to rent earrings for example. It is possible however, to seek and source our accessories from eco-friendly artisans.
When looking for eco-friendly accessories what better place to start than Cornwall, the home of this year’s forthcoming G7 summit. It is a place that has a past rooted in the industrial revolution, with its tin and copper mining history. As well as Modern Art History, with St Ives putting Cornwall firmly on the world stage when it comes to art during the 1940's.
While today the county is becoming a pioneer when it comes to the renewable energy industry and conservation projects, with co-operatives such as Community Power Cornwall, whose aim is to ‘own and operate small to medium scale community owned renewable energy installations.’ As well as Cornwall’s Carbon Neutral Action Plan which was announced after a climate emergency was declared by Cornwall Council on 22nd January 2019. There are now three carbon neutral priority projects, including A Forest for Cornwall, where an additional 8,000 hectares of trees and hedges will be created to absorb carbon from the air. The Whole House Retrofit Project to make energy efficient improvements to Council houses, along with the Climate Emergency Develoment Planning Document, which will help to plan for actions to ‘address and mitigate climate change.’
Care for the environment is reflected everywhere in Cornwall, even in the way that local artisan’s create their products. So, here are some of Cornwall’s best and most environmentally conscious, creators of fashion accessories. Not only are these products kinder to the environment than those that you would usually find in fast fashion outlets, but they are also all completely affordable.
Below you can see some of our favourites from their creations, as well as the outfits from One Wear Freedom that you could team them with, to add that extra WOW factor to any ensemble:
Ray Youngs – www.cornishglassjewellery.co.uk
Ray has been creating glass jewellery for the past twenty years. He now works from a small studio near St Austell. All of his pieces are handmade from rods of coloured glass, which is melted in an open flame, then shaped, with extra colours added by hand. The piece is then placed into a kiln to cool slowly.
Ray also creates bespoke pieces, and memorial jewellery for those who have lost a loved one. He is also conscious of rising costs and his carbon footprint. This means he tries his best to keep his pieces affordable, while also sourcing his raw materials locally where possible.
Our pick from Ray’s collection is this beautiful Cornish Sunset Pendant, £32
The colours of pink, orange and blue reflecting the beauty of a summer evening sky at the beach.
We would team this with our Afghan Maxi Coat & Trouser Suit
Lucy Kemp – lucykempjewellery.co.uk
Lucy began making jewellery as a child, then took a silver-smith class around twenty years ago, and has gradually built up a business. All of her jewellery is handmade, with both her workshop and shop based in Hayle.
Lucy, uses recycled and eco silver as much as she can in her creations, with almost every piece she makes now having a component that is made from recycled silver. Some of the silver she uses is recycled from discarded electronics that would otherwise end up in landfill. Lucy also tries to reuse as much of the silver scraps as possible as she can, so that nothing goes to waste unnecessarily.
Lucy says that, ‘living by the sea, the environment is really important to me.’
We have chosen this beautiful Silver Moon Ring from Lucy’s collection, which is made from recycled silver, £15
We would team this ring with this white, Jasmine Bardot Tunic
Hattie’s Beach Hut – hattiesbeachhut.co.uk
Matt’s business is named after his daughter, Hattie, who introduced him to the joys of collecting sea glass from local beaches around five years ago. The first piece he made was a framed sea glass heart for his wife for Valentine’s Day. A friend who owned a gift shop in Perranporth, asked Matt to make one for her to sell in her shop. The art sold so well, that Matt tried his hand at making some sea glass earrings. Four years on and after leaving his job in teaching to pursue his craft, and the rest is history. Matt is now a professional beachcomber, upcycling discarded glass, that has been left in our ocean’s and creating beautiful, unique pieces of sterling silver, sea glass jewellery with them.
We love this Tregundy Pastel Bangle, £50
Wear it with our Eminence Stripe Polo Mini Dress
Wild Reef – wildreefgifts.co.uk
Helen, first began using polymer clay as a teenager, and would make pieces to sell to friends and family as a way to create some extra pocket money. It wasn’t until more recent years that she re-discovered her love for the material, and began to create pieces of jewellery and subsequently, a small business. Helen says that, ‘sometimes it’s just the hues of the sea and sky that spark an idea in my mind, and then I can’t wait to try to recreate that idea with clay. To turn the idea into a piece of art.’ Based near St Ives, she is inspired daily by her surroundings.
We are loving the unique and completely beautiful Koi Carp collection,
Wear them with this Chocolate Plaid Mini Dress
Best Makes – bestmakes.co.uk
Run by best friends Becky and Tara, the pair started their business together in 2019. They say that their aim is, ‘make jewellery and products that are colourful, unique and handmade by us. Inspired by Cornwall’s patterns, shapes and colours.’
All of their pieces are made from Polymer Clay in their studio in Hayle.
These Mermaid Tail Earrings are super cute
They would be perfect with our Maroon Quilt Maxi Coat
So, as you can see even the way we accessorise our outfits can be done in way that helps the planet. Not only that but you get to own something unique, beautiful, and to support small business’s at the same time, and what's even better in today's world is that you can access any of these beauties online.
Find out more about building a green future in our free online panel event ‘Building a Green 2021 and Beyond’ on 3rd February at 6pm. Where we will be talking to a range of experts, from a diverse range of industries and fields across the world, to discuss a green game-plan for the future.
Register here
Peace, Love N Lipgloss
Kelly Louise