StoneArrow is committed in our endeavours to operate as an environmentally sustainable business with social responsibility also at the core. We aim to be transparent about how we achieve our sustainability goals.
We think consciously about our daily operations to ensure we are being as efficient and responsible to our planet as we can.
Since 2016 Trees That Count has been supporting native forest restoration throughout Aotearoa New Zealand.
In 2024 we made the decision to remove a very popular little treat sent out with every customer purchase (individually wrapped Whittakers chocolate) in order to up our sustainability game.
Instead, we are now donating a percentage of our online sales to Trees That Count. By partnering with TTC we’re supporting native tree planting which helps mitigate our carbon footprint over the next 50 years as well as strengthening New Zealand’s biodiversity and helping communities thrive.
We have been a member of the
NZ Sustainable Business Network for over ten years and were a finalist in the SBN awards three times in 2013, 2015 and 2019 (including being national runner up twice).
Sustainable Products
Up-cycled Glass
StoneArrow lays claim to being the world’s most sophisticated up-cycled glass jewellery manufacturer in the world (please let us know if you find someone else doing better)!
Our re-used glass comes from glass bottles and windows taken from the waste stream (and donated by the community). We've had to invent a range of ways of working with the glass to create the designs we do.
We have designated collection bins at our local recycling centre, and often post a bounty on the bottles we need in exchange for jewellery credit (win-win). Nick can sometimes still be found hunting for old windows in recycling centres around the country.
Recycled Metals
We have arranged with our NZ metal supplier, Regal Castings, to provide StoneArrow with 100% recycled material. This includes all cast jewellery in sterling silver and copper.
“Regal Castings guarantees that all Sterling Silver and Copper supplied to StoneArrow Jewellery is made from 100% recycled material. This includes wire, plate and castings.”
Feel free to contact Trevor at regal.co.nz for more information.
At present the only metal that is not recycled are the gold-plated designs (9ct plate over recycled copper) and the sterling silver chains and clasps we use with the necklaces. We are currently looking into sourcing chains made from recycled material.
Business Operations
Electric Car
We have a zero emission Nissan Leaf fully electric car at the gallery for sourcing business supplies.
Courier Bags
We use compostable courier bags made from plants which are non-gmo & bpa free. We also re-use old courier bags.
Packaging
Jewellery orders are wrapped in tissue and recycled honeycomb wrap. All paper and card used in our packaging is recyclable material. Any bubble wrap we do use is re-used and recyclable as soft plastics.
Delivery
Jewellery, because of its size and weight, has a very low carbon footprint to transport around the world.
Office Paper/Food Waste
Used 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 the used in our garden. Food scraps from our lunches at work also go into the worm farm.
Energy Use
We use energy efficient LED light bulbs throughout the gallery and workshop and turn off all appliances at night and when not in use.
When we run our kiln we ensure it is totally full of glass or earrings, squeezing in extra pieces to make sure to maximise the load. It is a very small efficient bead-making kiln using about as much power as an electric heater going for 1.5 hours. The tumbler is always run full of earrings so the energy cost per unit is tiny.
We don’t have a hot water system (apart from the jug for our morning tea)! We are getting closer to our dream of installing solar panels one day.
Website and Server Energy
Our website is kept lean to reduce the energy usage of our hosting provider. We use
Shopify ecommerce platform which has carbon-neutral hosting and operations, plus have committed to investing at least $1 million USD each year into carbon sequestration.
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