We don’t need or want any more plastic

I’m bringing back the hashtag of shame.

Some of you might remember that I wrote a while back about changing my packaging to compostable rather than plastic. It wasn’t an immediate switch. Mostly because I am still drowning in plastic baggies from my suppliers – Hiiiii Rio Grande and Stuller!

Four years ago, I started the hashtag about plastic waste stemming from our jewelry suppliers. Almost every jewelry designer I know, whether they consider themselves a part of the responsible jewelry supply chain or not, is consistently frustrated by the flood of plastic baggies that flow from suppliers.

But my old hashtag needed an update. It needed to be clear who has the greatest responsibility to make changes to their practices. And folks? It’s not us.

Our suppliers – Hoover & Strong, Rio Grande, Stuller, and almost all suppliers you can think of, bear the biggest responsibility for changing their packaging.

We are just the recipients.

How much plastic packaging does one jeweler need?

None. We need none.

The plastic waste that we are subjected to ranges from semi-wasteful – lots of tiny baggies that we can reuse if we can successfully remove the labels – to ludicrous.

Like, laughably terrible.

Rio Grande used to send me a single pair of gold ear nuts inside of a zipper baggie and that baggie would be packaged inside of a vacuum-sealed plastic pouch. For one pair of ear nuts. If I ordered five pairs, that would mean five zipper baggies inside of five vacuum-sealed plastic baggies.

For the record, all of the ear nuts could fit easily into a single baggie with no effect on quality. This was…a choice.

So what is the new hashtag?

My old hashtag was fine – not particularly bad, semi-clever if I do say so myself, but it didn’t accurately reflect which entity is responsible for the plastic waste – our suppliers are responsible for all that plastic, and I think that the hashtag should reflect that.

The old hashtag, #WatchingMyWasteLine put the burden on us, their customers. The burden belongs squarely on their shoulders, so I changed it to #YourPlasticIsForever – because who cares if a diamond is forever when plastic is too?

What can we do about their plastic waste?

Well, we can all work together to pressure them to make new and better choices. And by “new choices”, I don’t mean so-called “biodegradable plastic”.

That’s a shitty and disingenuous way of saying “Our plastic baggies break down into smaller bits of plastic.”

It’s still plastic.

They could start using more paper envelopes, or compostable baggies, or at the very very very least they could do a better job reducing the amount of plastic that they send to us. They have the means and the resources to make changes to their practices.

What are your next steps?

So what can you as a jeweler do? What steps can you take?

Personally, I think it’s time to start calling them.

These companies all have phone numbers, email addresses, and contact forms. Ask yourself if you have a moment to send them an email, a moment to call your sales rep at this company, or a moment to write them a good old-fashioned letter.

Here’s an example of what you can say to them

Do you need help knowing what to say? Here’s a sample script:

“I have been a jewelry designer and a customer of {COMPANY NAME} for {NUMBER OF YEARS}. I have always considered {COMPANY NAME} to be a partner in my business success.

But I am frustrated and dismayed that {COMPANY NAME} continues to outsource its plastic waste to its customers. This has become a burden to many of us. There is too much plastic in packaging and shipments. [Feel free to cite a specific example of an unreasonable amount of plastic that was shipped to you by this company.]

I believe that {COMPANY NAME} could be making much better choices for their packaging, whether it is paper or compostable baggies. {COMPANY NAME} could also organize their inventory and shipments better to reduce the amount of plastic that is needed.”

You don’t have to state it just like this – use your own words and voice if you prefer. It’s also helpful to cite specific examples of times that you have been loaded up on unwanted plastic. Or cite times that they made their plastic un-reuseable (hello to Rio Grande’s vacuum-sealed baggies that I can’t use again.)

Remember to be firm, but respectful. Try to talk to someone higher up the chain of command if you can.

Why it’s OK to put the burden back on the companies to control their plastic waste

If I can convince you to keep one thing in mind while you take action, it’s this – all of these companies have far more resources at their disposal than we do as individuals.

Rio Grande is a Berkshire Hathaway company.

Stuller has been around for more than fifty years and is a leader in the industry for manufacturing.

Hoover & Strong has, in their own words, been “serving the jewelry industry since 1912”. Meaning that at one point, they were able to run their business without excess plastic waste.

They can change if they want to – it’s up to us to make them want to change.

This is why I replaced the hashtag – to put the shame and responsibility where it belongs – on the companies who burden us with their plastic waste.

Tag your own posts or stories across social media with #YourPlasticIsForever and let’s spread the word.

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