Zero Waste & Sustainable Engagement/Wedding Rings

My engagement ring (left) & my partner’s wedding ring (right)

Sustainable jewelry can be expensive… but the cost reflects careful sourcing of ethical and sustainable metals and gemstones. Learn more, here.

REDUCE

One of the most sustainable and low waste options available when it comes to engagement/wedding rings is to skip them completely.

There are many reasons why someone may choose to do without a ring including:

• No personal attachment/meaning to exchanging rings
• A preference for another symbol of commitment
• A dislike of jewelry in general or a specific dislike of hand jewelry
• Cost constraints

Ultimately, it’s okay to skip an engagement and/or wedding ring. This is an incredibly personal decision and something to determine with your partner(s).

REUSE/RECYCLE

If exchanging a ring to symbolize commitment is important to you, there are many options to make choosing a ring more sustainable.

The options* below are ranked in order, from best to worst; ANY of these options are better than conventional jewelry.

1. Reuse heirloom or existing rings; purchase vintage rings.
2. Recycle heirloom jewelry or existing jewelry into “new” rings. This option is becoming more common; jewelry stores can specialize in doing this, or just offer this as one of many services.
3. Purchase rings with recycled metal (and no stones).
4. Purchase rings with recycled metal and recycled stones.
5. Purchase rings with recycled metal and lab-created stones.

*I did NOT include fair trade, fair mined, or certified responsibly mined gemstones and precious metals in the list above. From an environmental perspective, it is better to reuse or recycle existing materials than to mine new ones.

I’ve curated a list of online jewelry brands in the U.S. and their sustainable options. This list isn’t all inclusive, but it can help you get started.

1. Etsy is a great place to look for vintage rings (use their vintage search filter to exclude “vintage inspired” rings).
2. Shop locally; antique and local jewelry stores often carry vintage or pre-owned rings.
3. Aide-Memoire. All rings use recycled metal. Their rings with stones have lab-created and/or recycled stone options.
4. Hutcherson Goldsmithing. All rings use recycled metal. They can source recycled gemstones, if you ask.
5. S. Kind & Co. All rings use recycled metal. (Some of their rings use recycled stones, but not all).
6. Sofia Kaman. All rings use recycled metal. (Some of their rings use vintage stones or lab-created stones, but not all).
7. Brilliant Earth. All rings use recycled metal. (Some of their rings use lab-created stones, but not all. If you design your own ring, you can also select recycled diamonds from their warehouse).
8. Catbird. All rings use recycled metal. (Some of their rings use recycled stones or lab-created stones, but not all).
9. Vrai. All rings use recycled metal. Their rings with stones use lab-created stones.
10. Soha Diamond Co. All rings use recycled metal. Their rings with stones use lab-created stones.
11. Katie Poterala. All rings use recycled metal. (Some of their rings use lab-created stones, but not all).
12. Valerie Madison. All rings use recycled metal.

Here in MN, we have a jewelry store, New Gild, that specializes in recycling heirloom pieces. Additionally, they use only recycled metals, so you have some flexibility if you don’t like the metal from your heirloom piece.

MY ENGAGEMENT RING & MY PARTNER’S RING

Before I got engaged, I knew I wanted an engagement ring. I like jewelry and have been wearing many of my rings daily for 10+ years. In addition, the ring exchange was one of the few wedding traditions I wanted to partake in.

So when I got engaged, I asked around to see if there was any family jewelry I could reuse. Unfortunately the only option was a plain gold band and I was hoping for something white gold or platinum. I actively searched for vintage rings on Etsy and looked for vintage rings in local antique/vintage shops, but I didn’t have success finding something I loved. Eventually I found something I really loved online — from S. Kind & Co. I followed this company for quite a few months before finding my ring; they produce many one-of-a-kind rings, so I patiently waited for new styles to arrive on their website. My ring is the exact metal I wanted (recycled platinum) with the exact center stone I wanted (vintage brilliant cut).

I didn’t end up with a wedding band. Although I wanted one, I was unable to find exactly what I wanted online or from a local shop. My partner and I will likely purchase one in future years, but it is not a current priority.

For my partner, we heavily debated if a wedding ring should be purchased at all. He isn’t someone who wears any jewelry and he wasn’t 100% sure he would enjoy wearing a ring. In the end, we purchased him a recycled metal band from Aide-Memoire. We got married in September 2020, and he hasn’t taken it off since. If he does decide he doesn’t want to wear it anymore, we will likely sell it or reuse the metal for a future piece of jewelry.

Like this post?
Check out the other posts in my sustainable wedding series such as Read This Before You Purchase Engagement/Wedding Rings, Read This Before You Purchase Wedding Invites, Save the Dates, RSVP Cards, and Thank You Notes, Eco-Friendly & Low Waste Wedding Invites, Save the Dates, RSVP Cards, & Thank You Notes, and How To Create a Low-Waste and Sustainable Wedding Registry.

All photos by Jen Montgomery Photography.
None of the links in this post are affiliate links; I have received no incentive to include brands or companies in this post.