Moder Luxury has brought a brand new concept for fashion. Sustainability is a pillar that brands can’t leave behind nowadays. Therefore, modern luxury is showing that eco-conscious practices and beauty can – and will, from now on – walk side by side.
Modern Luxury in Jewelry
Investment-worthy pieces should be both luxe in material and sustainably made. A consumer shouldn’t have to compromise on either.
KBH focuses on circular practices through every stage of our design and manufacturing process to fulfillment. The collection is made from 100% reclaimed gold and cultivated diamonds. The products are not from minds. Everything that KBH produces, supplies, and ships – from jewelry to packaging – is sourced from ethical, sustainable, and reclaimed methods.
I wanted to create jewelry that serves as beautiful modern heirlooms, pieces that can be passed down to future generations. It is all about doing something for the world that my children are going to live in and eventually share with their own families. That is tradition; that is part of our legacy. Family, tradition, and incorporating circular practices and sustainable materials are at the heart of everything we do and embedded into the fabric of our story.
KBH’s vision is to make a long-term impact with tangible results. From upcycling plastic waste into our packaging to choosing organic fabrics for our pouches, every decision we make is an attempt to inject conscious sustainability into every area of business
We want consumers to know that there is a sustainable option in fine jewelry.
Modern Luxury: Recycled Gold
KBH gold is never plated, filled or newly mined. Is is always 100% recycled and reclaimed. Our 14k gold is strong and elevated to stand up to your every day and to the test of time.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Toxics Release Inventory, “metal mining is the nation’s #1 toxic polluter” and Earthworks states that mining is the biggest polluter in the USA, contributing to arsenic, mercury, and lead pollution. Gold is one of the earth’s natural renewable resources. It’s possible to recycle it without any quality degradation. So why are we mining for more?
Modern Luxury: Cultivated Diamonds
100% real diamonds that are grown and not mined. KBH Diamonds are cultivated in highly controlled lab greenhouses using the same chemical reaction that occurs in the mantle of the Earth creating diamonds that are identical chemically, physically, optically and to mined diamonds – the only difference is the point of origin.
Mining relies on vast unethical human and environmental methods, while producing enormous amounts of toxic waste, destroying landscapes, and displacing animals. The damage that this process does is irreparable. Grown diamonds are the result of innovative technology that should disrupt and introduce a new set of principles that brings responsible sourcing to the forefront of the jewelry industry.
Estimations say that upwards of 400,000 lbs of the earth is disrupted and displaced to mine for the equivalent of 1 carat worth of diamond. That is equal to roughly 10 Manhattan city blocks and in addition to other devastating social and environmental factors that are a part of the diamond mining industry. The FTC ruled that diamonds can grow with the same chemical, physical, and optical properties as mined diamonds.
Modern Luxury: Appealing to a Modern Consumer
Any brand that wants to speak to the modern consumer has to keep sustainability at the forefront of the emerging circular economy which focuses on recycling, reusing, and minimizing waste. This should not only apply to brand strategy but also to be a human in our world.
We are the ones that have to make a difference for our children. The women that we know, who inspire KBH pieces, are doing the best they can today to secure a better tomorrow for the people they love. It’s not about being perfect, it is about trying to do better. If there is a time to do this, it’s now.
Our consumer wants a fashion-forward option without sacrificing luxury for sustainability. They care about how the piece is made and where the materials are sourced from. Jewelry, as a symbol of love, should also apply to the manner in which it is made.
The focus is on what we are doing, what we are buying, and how that affects the world. Will future generations as consumers think about large mined diamond companies and the practices and marketing campaigns they utilize, the way our generation thinks about large tobacco companies of the past? Brands, companies, people – Everyone needs to think about the health of the world.
Consumers ultimately have the buying power, and when they choose to shop sustainably, they are voting for and supporting positive change.
* By Kimberly Berry Haisch, founder and CEO of KBH Jewels
KBH Jewels are setting a new luxury tradition for our generation and the standard for generations to come. Our belief is that modern luxury should only be a sustainable luxury. Jewelry should be beautiful, aspirational, covetable, and lifelong. But it should also be sustainable, thoughtful, and innovative where possible.
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