Stone Arrow Sustainable Practices

We have been a finalist in the New Zealand Sustainable Business Network awards 3 times (including being national runner up twice) in 2013, 2015 and 2019.  

We have listed here the practices and philosophies behind our ethical approach to keep everything crystal clear.  

Sustainable practices in our Workshop and Office

Up-cycled glass:  Our up-cycled glass jewellery range is one of our main product lines and we continue to expand our idea of what is possible with the medium of reused glass from bottles taken from the waste stream.  We have also added old windows to the process which opens up the possibilities with the colour range.

We’ve had to invent a range of ways of working with the glass to create the designs we do.

We lay claim to being the worlds most sophisticated up-cycled glass jewellery manufacturer in the world (feel free to let us know if you can find anyone you think does it better!). 

Recycled Metals: we have arranged with our metal supplier Regal Castings to provide Stone Arrow with 100% recycled material.

"Regal Castings guarantees that all Sterling Silver and Copper supplied to Stone Arrow Jewellery is made from 100% recycled material.  This includes wire, plate and castings.   Feel free to contact Trevor at http://www.regal.co.nz for more information."

We also source some copper offcuts from a local plumber.  

Note: at present the only metal that is not recycled are the sterling silver chains and clasps we use with the pendants.  We are currently looking into sourcing chains made from recycled material.

Electric Car:  We have a zero emission Nissan Leaf fully electric car for the commute from home to the gallery. 

Courier bags:  We have a label printer for our courier labels and most of the courier bags we send out are old ones turned inside out.  We are always on the lookout for more reused bags so get in touch if you have access to any.  When we are not able to source enough old bags we use compostable eco bags.

Office, Gallery and Workshop Practices: 

All bubble wrap and plastic bags are reused from things sent to us.

Office paper is saved and reused on both sides then shredded and used in our office worm farm, which is great as the worms love it and the vermicast is then used in our garden to grow food.  Of course food scraps from our lunches at work also go in there.

We don’t have a hot water system (apart from the jug for morning tea!).

We use Energy efficient LED light bulbs throughout the Gallery and Workshop and turn off all appliances at night and when not in use.

The Kiln is always fired totally full of earrings (about 30 pairs at a firing) and it is a very small efficient bead making kiln using about as much power as an electric heater going for 1.5 hours. Only a few designs actually use the kiln.

The tumbler is always run full of earrings (several hundred at a time) so the energy cost per unit is tiny.

Jewellery, because of its size and weight, has a very low carbon footprint to transport around the world.

Social Practices

We donate both money and jewellery to a wide range of charities both regularly and as a one off.

We donate jewellery to non-profit charities such as Schools and Kindergartens for fundraising auctions (please be in touch if you are associated with an organisation that could use our help).

We also donate to a range of environmental organisations.

Below is a list of some of the charities we have supported.

Envirohub Bay of Plenty, World Vision, Rotorua Community Crèche & Kindergarten Inc, Wanaka Pre-School, Breast Cancer Bay of Plenty, Pat Farry Trust, Hope School Country Fair, Feet Up Reflexology, Wellington Plunket, Greenpeace, Ronald McDonald House, Western Height High School Rotorua, Forest and Bird, Golden Bay Football, ROPE Foundation, GB Community Health, Apiti School Support Association, Breast Cancer Foundation, Mohua Penguin Trust, Rapanui-Brunswick Playcentre, Golden Bay Playcentre, ECKO Trust, Golden Bay Horse Riding School, Upsidedowns Education Trust, Amnesty International, Christchurch Earthquake Trust, Pink Ribbon Breakfast, Plunket NZ.