What is Vegan-Friendly jewellery? (2024)

If you want to avoid animal cruelty when purchasing jewellery, you'll need to take a closer look at not only what the jewellery is made from but how it was made too. Surprisingly, not all jewellery is vegan. Both the manufacturing processes of creating jewellery as well as the materials it's made from can involve cruelty.

Jewellery is labelled vegan to indicate that no animal-derived materials have been used to make it. The majority of jewellery falls into this category. So just like the term 'recycled gold', the term 'vegan jewellery' is often used as greenwashing to make a brand appear more eco-friendly than it is.

However, jewellery made from different materials to precious metals isn't unusual. These materials are often derived from animals. Beeswax is commonly used in the manufacturing process while pearls, leather, silk, and wool are frequently for crafting jewellery.

Animal Exploitation In Jewellery

One of the most common non-vegan materials used for jewellery are pearls, which are produced naturally by molluscs. Pearls can also be cultured via a method that involves forcing an irritant into a live molluscs' shell. Either way, these creatures are put under stress and often killed in order to create these pearls.

Leather is another very popular material in jewellery making. This comes primarily from cows and pigs but exotic and sometimes endangered animals are used too. These animals are farmed and killed for their skin causing immense suffering to the individuals and a huge environmental impact on the planet. They're neither a sustainable nor eco-friendly option that won't biodegrade due to the chemicals used in manufacturing.

'Natural jewellery' often features the bones, teeth, or horns of animals. You'll also see feathers and fur used frequently, as well as things like shells and coral. All of these involve cruelty in the sourcing of these materials. Although some jewellers may claim they are 'ethically sourced,' it's very hard to provide evidence that this is the case.

Vegan jewellery isn't just about the materials used. It's also about the manufacturing process. Many jewellers use beeswax because of its versatility and usefulness in the manufacturing process of making jewellery. Beeswax can be used as a lubricant on tools, for polishing stones, casting pieces, and preventing rusting or oxidisation.

What is vegan-friendly jewellery?

As the sustainable movement has grown, 'vegan-friendly jewellery' has become a popular marketing term. But labeling jewellery as 'vegan-friendly' doesn't mean that it's completely cruelty-free, or even more sustainable. It's also important to look at how and where materials were sourced, and what else the jewellery is made from. Be wary of any brand who promotes their jewellery as vegan-friendly without also having a transparent ethics and sustainability policy, and detailed information on the materials they use and where they were sourced.

If a brand is promoting their jewellery as 'vegan-friendly' with no other focus on environmental issues or sustainability, you can be sure it's greenwashing rather than a genuine concern of the brand.

Why buy vegan-friendly jewellery?

There are plenty of alternatives to all these animal-derived materials that look and feel the same as the real thing without any cruelty involved - animal or human. Choosing to buy and wear vegan-friendly jewellery that is made sustainably helps save hundreds of thousands of animals from suffering.

Plastic-free leathers are being made from plants, simulated pearls can be made from glass, and there are vegan silk can be produced through fermentation. Or you can choose jewellery that doesn't use any of these materials, animal derived or not.

If you want to make sure your jewellery is cruelty-free, avoid any jewellers who use animal materials as described above. Take a close look at a brand's website to find information on their materials, where they were sourced, how their jewellery is made, and their sustainability policy.

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Written by Sophie Davies

Sophie is a freelance writer and full-time jeweller. She has been writing about simple living and sustainability for over ten years; exploring simple living, sustainable style, and slow travel. She writes for a variety of brands and publications as well as her personal blog, A Considered Life.

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FAQs

What is Vegan-Friendly jewellery? ›

Jewellery is labelled vegan to indicate that no animal-derived materials have been used to make it.

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What jewelry is not vegan? ›

Pearls, silk, wool, and other animal-based materials used in the design process and packaging.

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Is gold jewelry vegan? ›

Traditional forms of gold mining have a significant impact on local wildlife; both on land and at sea. For this reason, gold is thought as a non-vegan material. Recycled gold jewellery is a preferred and sustainable choice.

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Can vegans wear silver? ›

Silver, gold, copper, and gems are not animal products, and never were. As long as you steer away from leather straps, or silk or feather embellishments, your jewelry will definitely be vegan.

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What is eco jewelry? ›

One popular type of eco-friendly jewelry is created using recycled metals, such as gold, silver and platinum. By repurposing these materials, the jewelry industry can help reduce waste, lower energy consumption, and decrease the need for environmentally harmful mining practices.

Keep Reading ›

Are vegans ok with pearls? ›

They may seem like an innocent part of any jewelry collection, but there's a lot more to them and their production than many people think. Pearl production is often regarded as cruel. The stones are a product of animal use and exploitation, meaning they are not considered compatible with a vegan lifestyle.

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Can vegans wear shells? ›

'Natural jewellery' often features the bones, teeth, or horns of animals. You'll also see feathers and fur used frequently, as well as things like shells and coral. All of these involve cruelty in the sourcing of these materials.

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Why do vegans not wear cotton? ›

However, in the case of cotton, it can be considered vegan as no animal by-products are used in its manufacturing process. Exceptions to this would be blended cotton textiles that are made of animal fibres too, such as wool-cotton or silk-cotton blends.

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Which colors aren t vegan? ›

First, the good news: nearly every color of natural food coloring is derived from plants, meaning they are completely safe for vegan consumption! The only exception is “carmine,” a popular shade of red created using crushed beetles.

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Can vegans wear jeans? ›

As denim is mostly - if not entirely - made from cotton, it's pretty much always vegan. The tiny detail that makes it tricky is the patch that many companies use on the back of the waistband. In some cases, that patch can be made from leather, which frustratingly renders the garment non-vegan.

Is Tiffany and Co environmentally friendly? ›

Under her guidance we set a goal of reducing our greenhouse gas emissions to net-zero by 2050 and created plans to work toward achieving that. It was a big step for Tiffany: We'd been focused on sustainability issues specific to our industry, and this made climate change part of our sustainability agenda.

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What jewellery turns green? ›

Any metal that contains copper can turn your skin green. That means 14k gold, 18k gold, sterling silver, brass, bronze, or pewter can all do this. The higher the karat of gold, the less chance of turning your skin green.

Get More Info Here ›

What is ethical jewellery? ›

Ethical jewellery is characterised by its sustainable and responsible sourcing of materials and its production process. This includes using recycled or fair-trade materials, ensuring fair wages and safe working conditions for artisans, and minimising environmental impact.

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What is surprisingly not vegan? ›

Beer and Wine

Isinglass, a gelatin-based substance derived from fish, is used as a clarifying agent in some beer and wine. Other non-vegan ingredients sometimes used are casein (from milk) and egg whites.

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What materials are not vegan friendly? ›

Each of you probably knows the typical non-vegan materials, such as leather, down, silk, wool, or fur. After all, these products very obviously come from animals. Leather is the skin of cows, sheep, or pigs. In the skinning process, the animals are often not adequately anesthetized, so they suffer incredible pain.

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Why are party rings not vegan? ›

They formerly contained gelatine, since removing this it is now vegan as it was the only non-vegan product used.