Brand Spotlight: Bleue Burnham
Bleue Burnham launched his namesake handmade jewelry line in London just a few years ago in 2018. Bleue’s jewelry is an excellent marriage of creating a meaningful and spiritual connection with jewelry while focusing on sustainable practices. Before launching his jewelry line, Bleue studied environmental sustainability in college, soon afterward he found himself as the Head of Sustainability at Oliver Spencer. In this position, he was responsible for finding and implementing positive changes to the manufacturing and business practices a la low-carbon-footprint fabrics, recyclable packaging, and even finding ways to use renewable energy to power the offices and stores.
Bleue first took up jewelry making back in 2014 when his partner showed him how to craft wax molds. What first started as a passion project making jewelry for himself, friends, and family soon organically turned into a full-fledged business operation in April of 2018. “Through continual exploration of concept, culture, precious metals, and precious stones, Bleue Burnham fuses the esteemed format of fine jewelry with an approach to design that is informed by a luxurious and contemporary understanding of health and happiness. Playfully encompassing activity known to enhance these. The intention is to create jewelry that enriches the lifestyle through meaning and connection.”
Bleue Burnham takes a refreshing and invigorating approach to sustainability with his jewelry line which comes as a breath of fresh air in the world of fashion and jewelry that make up such a large chunk of the pollution caused in the world. Bleue wants his brand to be a force for good, with a genuine ambition to improve the current environmental position of the world. He wants to go further than just reducing a carbon footprint, cultivating an understanding of what environmental sustainability means. Bleue believes in striving to improve the position of humankind and what we are capable of accomplishing.
Bleue helps to accomplish this narrative by using a portion of every sale to invest in carbon-reduction schemes (short-term) and tree-planting to store carbon (long-term). Each piece of Bleue Burnham jewelry sold in stores reduces greenhouse gases by 125kg.
Bleue furthers these initiatives by the way of the selection of precious metals used for making his jewelry. When producing fine jewelry it is obvious that a fundamental part of the production is the use of precious metals, however, when these precious metals are mined it can become quite messy in a number of ways. Not only is the mining of precious metals detrimental to the environment, tracing them back to their origin can be murky as a lot of precious metals come from impoverished countries where working and labor standards are sub-standard and in some cases downright dehumanizing. Luckily, precious metals are very easy to recycle so it was a no-brainer for Bleue to use recycled gold and silver instead of their virgin counterparts. Aside from a small number of components (which are sign-posted in the product description) Bleue’s jewelry is made from recycled precious metals and lab-created sapphires.
Bleue also believes in the sentimentality of jewelry and how it can last many lifetimes as it is passed down through a family. The more a piece of jewelry is passed down, the less the environmental footprint is. Because Bleue strives to make pieces that span many lifetimes, he only employs the use of skilled manufacturing and solid metals. You will not find any plated or vermeil jewelry as this type of jewelry directly conflicts with the brand’s mission as it is not made to last. Bleue also looks to reducing their footprint in their transportation, as 90% of the pieces that they make are hand-delivered and transported by bicycle to their stockists around London.
Even when it comes to packaging, usually the least thought of part of the production, as it is meant to be thrown away, Bleue finds another area of opportunity to advance their brand’s mission. They currently use a recycled foam pouch with a protective transparent paper exterior to package their pieces in. Though the foam packaging is not recyclable, it does come from recycled materials and they even recommend that it works as a great mouse pad for your computer.
Bleue Burnham's pieces are a connection to the world around us and give us a perspective on how to live more harmoniously with our surroundings and our Earth. A beautiful linking of luxury to happiness, spirituality, and harmony. Bleue Burnham’s pieces show us how to consume consciously with not only our wallet in mind but how to consume with the greater good of everyone and everything around us in mind. How we choose to consume and spend our money does not always have to be a destructive practice and with a little help from everyone, we can make our Earth a more prosperous and inheriting home for every living thing that inhabits it.
Check out Bleue Burnham’s current collection below and shop his styles on his website, Matches Fashion, SSENSE, Harvey Nichols, White Bird Jewelry, Browns, MR PORTER, or END. Clothing.
