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We talk a lot about how we source our materials and produce our jewels responsibly, but taking responsibility as a business owner also means putting our money where our mouths are and contributing to other important causes. That’s why we've donated a quarterly sum to The Water Project since 2015, planted 10 trees for every jewel we've sold since the beginning of 2022, and raised £1,000 via a dedicated fundraiser for the Global March Against Child Labour in 2021.
Between 1991 and 2002 Sierra Leone suffered eleven years of civil war, fuelled largely by feuds over the diamond mining industry and the traffic of blood diamonds. Even today, more than two decades after withdrawal, the innocent people of Sierra Leone continue to pay the price of a devastated infrastructure, with only around 10% of the nation's population able to access safe drinking water on a regular basis.
This leaves over seven million people to suffer needlessly, walking miles for dirty water that makes them sick. We've chosen to partner with The Water Project because we know that things don't need to be this way.
In many communities, natural springs exist where water flows from cracks in rocky ground or hillsides. Springs provide constant water year-round, but that doesn’t mean it's safe. When left open the springs become contaminated by surface substances, animal and human waste, and rain run-off. The simple solution is to build structures to protect the source and grant simple acccess to it. The majority of The Water Project's donations are spent on the construction and maintenance of borehole wells and hand pumps.
The Water Project also helps to fund vital hygiene and sanitation training and the implementation of committees.
Pewulay Kulafai Rashideen Islamic Primary School
Borehole Well and Hand Pump
Impact: 223 people
Throughout history, the extraction of precious metals and gemstones has catalysed catastrophic levels of environmental destruction. Today, gold mining is one of the top five drivers of global deforestation. Deforestation is responsible for 13% of our yearly carbon emissions and is a direct cause of climate change, desertification, soil erosion, fewer crops, flooding, and a host of serious problems for Indigenous people.
Fuelled by the simple fact that the world needs more trees, we pledge to plant ten new ones for every piece of jewellery we sell. Facilitating this mission is One Tree Planted, a not-for-profit organisation that works closely with on-the-ground partners in 47 countries to plant one new tree for every $1 donated.
We funnel our donations in the direction of One Tree Planted’s projects in the Chocó, a department of Western Colombia where gold mining and logging operations are decimating an estimated 13,47 hectares of rainforest per year. Home to over 8,000 species of plant, 6,000 species of bird and significant endemic wildlife, the Chocó-Darien rainforests are in urgent need of reforestation efforts.
Planting new trees means restoring habitats, reversing biodiversity loss, slowing global warming, decontaminating soil and water and addressing conditions of poverty by including trees and plants that yield fruits and vegetables, which can then create work and be sold to local markets.
On the World Day Against Child Labour 2021 - in acknowledgement of 2021 as the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labour - we launched a fundraiser for the Global March Against Child Labour. The campaign culminated in a donation of £1,000.
An estimated one million children work globally in the mining of precious metals and gemstones. In artisanal and small-scale gold mines, this involves working in deep, unstable pits, constantly vulnerable to the risk of respiratory diseases, long-term injury and exposure to toxic chemicals. At the time of launch, child labour had decreased by 38% in the last decade. 2021 was a critical year for accelerating that process, and as an ethical business, we saw it as our responsibility to apply some pressure to the pedal.
Global March is the world’s largest network of trade unions, teachers’ associations and civil society organisations working towards the shared goal of eliminating and preventing all forms of child labour, slavery and trafficking by questioning, attacking and changing the very systems that compel children to work. Their primary strategy is ensuring access by all children to free, meaningful and quality education. Their work also centres on building partnerships, mobilising voices, raising awareness and changing policies.
“As Lebrusan Studio's values resonate with Global March’s goal of ending child labour, we are happy to be collaborating, and encourage consumers and jewellery lovers to make an ethical choice in their day to day purchase. A child in some part of the world could be involved in creating the products that you consume, possibly working in exploitative conditions and not enjoying his or her right to a safe, healthy and educated childhood. Do your bit today.” - Purva Gupta, Global March Coordinator
