Sustainable ways of working

I may only be a very small one-woman business, but I know I have a responsibility to do my bit and to try to practice in the most sustainable ways possible. For this reason, I purposefully make each design in small batches of about ten (give or take), which I then restock periodically. This prevents any waste caused by overstocking going into landfill, and allows me to put time, effort and love into every pair of earrings, and really focus on creating one-of-a-kind pieces for you lovely people. I want each of you to feel like you’re getting a quality pair of earrings that you won’t find elsewhere, and to be as excited about receiving them as I am about making them for you. For this reason, my mantra will always be ‘quality over quantity’.   

I will always be transparent and honest about my business practices. I recognise that polymer clay is a plastic product (made from polymer polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and a liquid plasticiser). I hope just as much as you, that in the not-so-distant future, there will be a more eco-friendly material available with the same properties as polymer clay, and as soon as this happens, I will certainly be making that move. For now though, I hope that the high-quality clay I use to make Earth & Rascal products (Sculpey and Fimo) and the high level of craftmanship involved in making, means that if cared for properly, your earrings should have very long lives in your jewellery collections.  

Polymer clay has the wonderful advantage of being able to be mixed into infinite different colours. This means that from the small amount of scrap clay I get from each batch, I can re-use this either to mix another colour, or incorporate it into my marbling patterns and nothing goes to waste. 

All my packaging is recyclable:

- Your earrings will arrive beautifully presented in a box made from Kraft card.

- To protect your new items during shipment, the box is filled with wood wool (a light, bio-degradable void fill made from shredded timber).

- Display cards are made from 100% recyclable card.

- All stickers have been made from 100% recycled label paper, which is both recyclable and compostable after use (sticker adhesive is water-based). 

- The vibrant sticky tape on the outside of your parcel is printed on recycled paper and can be recycled again.

- You'll receive a cute little plantable seed card with every order, so you can grow your own wildflowers ✿

- I also provide a complementary hessian pouch for you to store your earrings in when not in use. 

I am lucky enough to be able to work from home, so all my earrings are made from there, in my little house, overlooking the river. Another benefit of this is that I’m able to keep my carbon emissions down, as there is no travelling to and from work. 

If you have any further recommendations as to how Earth & Rascal business practices can be improved, I'd love to hear about them :)

~ 🍃🌿~