Along with mindfulness, intention and community, sustainability and conscious consuming have always been important core values for our brand. Lisa Maxwell Jewelry was created to introduce the healing properties of crystals through refined and well styled jewelry with each piece being handmade with the utmost care and high quality, natural materials that have been sustainably and responsibly sourced. But what does responsible sourcing even mean?
Responsible sourcing is knowing where the materials you use to create your products come from. At LM, we use high-grade, natural semi-precious gemstones and hypoallergenic precious metals (14-karat gold-filled and sterling silver) to create our pieces. To ensure the quality of these pieces, we’ve made a point to work with suppliers that are honest about where and how they source their materials.
Gemstones
Our gemstones, including the dainty beads and semi-precious gemstone charms, are purchased from certified suppliers who source the gemstones naturally within Canada, India, Africa and a few other regions. This helps us ensure that we're providing you with the "real deal" when it comes to the healing crystals in our pieces.
Plus, whenever possible with our local Toronto suppliers, we'll go in person to hand-select each strand, charm, etc!
Metals
When it comes to the metals we use to craft our pieces (including jump rings, crimp beads, crimp covers, chains, wire, select charms and earring backings), we try to purchase from local vendors whenever possible. About 90% of our fine metal comes from Toronto suppliers who source these materials primarily from the USA, Italy and France and the remaining 10% is purchased directly from a small shop in Israel via Etsy.
Packaging
For our packaging, we use organic cotton drawstring bags that are sourced from a small business in China who operate sustainably and in small batches. For gift wrapping at local markets and mail out orders, we provide recyclable paper packaging and tissue.
Another way we incorporate conscious consuming into our brand is through sustainable business practices. While this can change from business to business, there are a few things we do to ensure we’re as environmentally friendly as possible.
Natural and organic materials
We choose to use natural and ethically sourced materials such as semi-precious crystals, metals and organic and recyclable packaging.
Design to last
We make a point to design pieces that are well-made and meant to last. That way, they will not need to be replaced or repaired for the foreseeable future. We also like to educate our clients on how to properly care for their gems so they can get the longest life out of them.
Repair over replace
If something does happen to your LM piece, our first option is always to your repair piece instead of just send you a replacement.
Love the locals
Not only do we like to use local suppliers whenever possible, but we also like to deliver local orders when we get the chance!
Travel consciously
We created sustainable business travel policies to reduce our carbon footprint. Whether it's meeting a supplier or travelling to set up a market, we always like to use public transit or ride our bikes around the city.
Starting at home
In-studio, we like to practice sustainability by powering down our devices when they're not in-use, dim our studio lighting, turn off tools and equipment when we are not using them and using low-power settings for our electronics and tech.