ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY
In and out of Astral Apparel Angel Armoury I am passionate about eradicating waste and operating in a fashion as environmentally sound as possible. I am not a ‘fast’ business. I consider my collections ageless. I possess no surplus stock or materials. My studio and despatch office are free of single use materials. If I generate any waste that cannot be recycled by traditional waste streams, I let said waste to eco waste management companies. All metal scraps are melted for reuse, indeed my own financial homeostasis is something to be tended to. Not a single offcut goes to waste or landfill. My packaging is recyclable and crafted by recycled materials, utilising environmentally friendly ink. My dispatch and packing materials are biodegradable.
Due to the frivolous nature of my wares, it is paramount that my environmental impact is harmonious at the very least. I consider my work a reflection of myself, so it is essential that my values are mirrored if I am to move with accountability and integrity.
I will only collaborate with traders who values are in alignment with my own. Environmentally speaking, this means sourcing crystals and gemstones cut by hand. Minimising environmental impact and protecting local people, who I believe in turn to be conglomerates of the environment. This requires local traders investing in local communities as opposed to gargantuan corporations. Instead of large scale mining, the crystals, metals and gemstones incorporated at Astral Apparel Angel Armoury are obtained by hand, thus retaining value in all senses of the word. My collaborating traders must abide and honour environmental impact as well as licensing and pollution control.
I am dedicated to learning and developing to maintain my business as a force for good, as far as vanity, materialism and expression goes.
Astral Apparel
ETHICAL TRADING
In my shop, Astral Apparel Angel Armoury, I wish only to collaborate with traders whose values align with my own, there is no compromise. This includes minimising environmental impact [see Environmental Sustainability] and ensuring humane working conditions for my partners across the globe. Transparency and integrity is paramount to my trading negotiations.
My component trading partners are predominantly local merchants investing in communities. Running a small business myself, I prefer to support fellow small traders. The exception to this rule is my dealing in Swarovski, one of the leading brands in 'ethical gemstones'. My trading partners participating in mining must ensure ethical practice, with every effort to minimise process impact on the environment. Instead of large scale mining for bulk stones and minerals, Astral Apparel Angel Armoury's crystals and other mineral specimens are obtained by hand [or in Swarovski's case, conjured in a laboratory].
When sourcing trading partners in regards to mining crystals, gemstones and minerals- consideration is given to the following criteria:
- Reasonable working conditions, including space, time and fair wages.
- Implementation of safety and preservation measures regarding mines.
- Hand cut stones.
- Abiding to local laws including licensing and pollution control.
I will only create alongside those with integrity, to conduct a business as moral as can be, for the sake of planetary and personal virtue.