Sustainability Statement
As a brand, we’re always conscious of what and how we produce. The jewellery industry still has a long way to go before it can become meaningfully sustainable, but we believe it’s important to be transparent about the choices we make around materials, processes, and packaging.
Castro’s style is intricate; by definition, it takes time, detail, and consideration. Our emphasis has always been on creating one-off pieces designed to be kept forever, rather than mass-producing items with a short shelf life. We’ve broken down some of our processes below to show how seriously we take our impact on the environment.
Our Packaging
All packaging we use is 100% recyclable or biodegradable and plastic-free.
This includes:
- A unique wooden box – we hope you’ll love this as much as your jewellery and keep or re-use it
- Inside each box is calico fabric lining and pouch
- ‘Mokuba Silk’ ribbon made from 100% cotton
- Print on paper of the original sketch of your piece of jewellery
- Recyclable cardboard box
- Eco-friendly paper bubble wrap
Our Materials
We only use 100% recycled gold and silver. No freshly mined metal has ever been added to our supply chain.
Every piece of Castro Smith jewellery is handmade in our London studio. If we require any outsourced, specialist processes, we work with suppliers based in the UK.
We always make a conscious effort to source stones from reputable suppliers. We regularly use lab-grown diamonds, and buy direct from fair-trade mines. We are also always happy to work with our clients’ own stones.
Delivery
Our chosen supplier for international shipments is DHL, through them we offset emissions for each delivery.
If we’re shipping within the UK, we use Royal Mail, who have the lowest reported carbon emissions per parcel of any major UK delivery company.
We’re constantly re-assessing how we put our pieces out into the world and researching the different options available to us have as a business. If you have a specific question that hasn’t been answered, please drop us a line.
The technique he uses, 'seal engraving' goes back to ancient times. A seal is always engraved in reverse and is much deeper than traditional two-dimensional hand engraving with a third or fourth dimension added which is deeper and finer and takes much more time to achieve.