Jewellery brand Pandora has changed its precious metal supply and is now sourcing only recycled silver and gold for all its jewellery.
The carbon footprint of recycled silver is one third of that of mined silver, while the recycling of gold emits less than 1% of the carbon emissions from mining new gold.
By sourcing recycled metals, Pandora is expecting to avoid 58,000 tons CO2 per year once it begins to craft all new jewellery with 100% recycled silver and gold from the second half of 2024.
In 2023, 97% of the silver and gold sourced for the brand’s jewellery was recycled.
Pandora chief executive Alexander Lacik said: “Precious metals can be recycled forever without any loss of quality.
“Silver originally mined centuries ago is just as good as new, and improved recycling can significantly reduce the climate footprint of the jewellery industry.”
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In 2020, the jewellery brand set a target to source 100% recycled silver and gold by 2025, and now the company has reached this milestone earlier than expected – by the end of 2023 – due to supplier collaboration.
All suppliers have had to switch their operations to only source materials that are certified recycled, according to the Responsible Jewellery Council Chain of Custody.
Many Pandora suppliers have now introduced new processes and equipment to ensure complete segregation of mined and recycled metals across the entire supply chain including sorting, melting, and manufacturing.
