The Andean Collection: Sustainable and Sharp Accessories
Recently, I wrote about how gorgeous and sustainable tagua nuts are; a renewable resource from the rainforest, tagua nuts make unique jewelry and accessories that also enable the local people from the Amazon region to earn a fair wage without cutting down acres of forest to plant crops there (once the topsoil is used for agriculture for a few years, desertification sets in, and rainforest is lost forever).
The Andean Collection’s colorful pieces pictured on this page are all made from tagua nuts and according to the site, “In addition to being paid fair wages, our artisans share in the profits of the company as partial owners of The Andean Collection.”
Founded by Manhattanite Amanda Judge, the Andean Collection is not only Fair Trade, but a wholly green company, all the way down to the nitty gritty:
Product tags and marketing materials are printed on recycled paper, and we continually strive to reduce our carbon footprint. In our offices, we take great efforts to conserve resources, including using energy efficient lighting and of course, recycling.
Starre Vartan
Starre Vartan is founder and editor-in-chief of Eco-Chick.com and the author of the Eco-Chick Guide to Life. She's also a freelance science and environment writer who has published in National Geographic, CNN, Scientific American, Mental Floss, Pacific Standard, the NRDC, and many more. She lives on an island in Puget Sound with her partner and black cat. She was a geologist in her first career, and still picks up rocks wherever she goes.
