Ethical Making Resource

The Ethical Making Resource is a website for anyone looking for information about responsible and sustainable making practices in the jewellery and silversmithing industry.

What is Ethical Making?

We consider ‘Ethical Making’ to be practice(s) which strive for a positive impact and minimise negative impacts identified. To define this, we use the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as a framework to help prioritise and communicate areas for social, environmental and economic impact, in particular SDG 4 (quality education) and SDG 12 (responsible consumption and production).

About

The Ethical Making Resource is a website for anyone looking for information about responsible and sustainable making practices in the jewellery and silversmithing industry.

Launched by the Incorporation of Goldsmiths of the City of Edinburgh in 2017, the Ethical Making Resource was built by a community of contributors. Initiated by Mary Michel, former Director of the Incorporation of Goldsmiths, with the support of Emily MacDonald, the Resource builds on the core research of award-winning Jeweller, Ute Decker. Alongside Ute’s research, the Resource’s development was supported by Dr Peter Oakley, Greg Valerio MBE and a range of makers and industry leaders.

In 2021, the Ethical Making Resource became a key component of the work of The Scottish Goldsmiths Trust, supported by the Incorporation of Goldsmiths. The Trust re-launched the Resource in 2022 and established a partnership with The Goldsmiths’ Centre in London to expand the reach of the programme across the UK. The research and materials on the Ethical Making Resource have been expanded through the work of the SGT Team, including Dr Karen Westland, Iona Turner and Eda Obermanns under CEO Ebba Goring. The Resource has been supported by a range of collaborators on the Ethical Making Committee, ensuring the Resource is fit for purpose. This partnership enabled further research and development to take place with the support of Dr Karen Westland, Programme Manager for Ethical Making.

As of 2024, the management of the Ethical Making Resource remains under the Incorporation of Goldsmiths of the City of Edinburgh. Collaboration is at the heart of this Resource, bringing together information about ethical making and providing clear and practical ways for makers to engage with ethical making. Our aim is to ensure the Ethical Making Resource remains a free to use and impactful tool for the industry.

The Resource incorporates information about what ethical making means, how to implement specific practices, information on how to fairly and sustainably source materials, and more. The aim of this Resource is for users to feel empowered to take the tools and information learned and interpret them in the context of their own practice and community.

THE GOLDSMITHS’ CENTRE

‘In the many years across multiple countries I have been addressing ethics in jewellery, Scotland has been the most receptive and fertile country of them all. Scotland has a real chance to become the world’s leading ethical designer-maker nation.’

DR GREG VALERIO MBE

Image by James Robertson

Jewellery is my medium of telling a story, of making connections and working as sustainably as we can is certainly one of the most urgent stories of today.

UTE DECKER

The Ethical Making Committee:

Ute Decker
Artist Jeweller

Ute Decker is a pioneer of the international ethical jewellery movement. She works predominantly in recycled silver and was one of the very first worldwide to create pieces in Fairtrade Gold.

Karine Lepeuple
The Goldsmiths’ Centre

Karine has been Deputy Director for the Goldsmiths’ Centre since 2014. Based in Farringdon, London, and now in its tenth year, the Centre offers a varied programme of events, courses and programmes to support the development of aspiring and existing craftspeople and designers in the jewellery industry.

Dr Peter Oakley
Royal College of Art

Peter is Reader in Material Culture and Co-Lead for the RCA's Material Engagements Research Cluster. He specialises in research focusing on materials, making, and manufacturing, especially in relation to prestige materials, luxury goods and artworks. Peter has been conducting ethnographic research amongst jewellers since 2005.

Professor Sandra Wilson
Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design

Sandra Wilson is an award-winning silversmith/jewellery and Professor of Ecological Metal Design at DJCAD, University of Dundee. Her current research into working with precious metals recovered from e-waste is funded by EPSRC, The British Museum and The Daiwa Foundation.

Arabel Lebrusan
Jewellery Designer

Arabel Lebrusan is a leading artist, award-winning jewellery designer and pioneer of the ethical jewellery movement. One of the world's first ever Fairtrade Gold licensees, founding member of the Fair Luxury campaign group and Creative Director of her eponymous ethical jewellery brand, Lebrusan Studio, she uses her platform to establish social commentaries and strive for a jewellery industry that is fair and transparent.

Dr Karen Patel
Birmingham City University

Dr Karen Patel is a Research Fellow at the Birmingham Centre for Media and Cultural Research at Birmingham City University. She is currently leading the AHRC funded project Craft Expertise, in collaboration with Crafts Council. Karen’s research interests centre on issues around expertise, gender, race and social media use in creative work. She is also Director of the Centre for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion in the Arts (CEDIA) at Birmingham City University.

The Ethical Making Committee was created to aid in the further development, research and growth of the Ethical Making Resource.