Pandora completes transition to 100% recycled silver and gold
As part of its shift to recycled and renewable materials, Pandora has also stopped using mined gemstones
Jewellery brand Pandora has completed its transformative shift to use only 100% recycled silver and gold in its crafting.
Pandora stopped sourcing newly mined silver and gold in December 2023 and has since then worked to deplete its non-recycled inventory.
The two precious metals can be recycled forever without any loss of quality and the first of these products will appear in stores by early 2025.
The jewellery company sells more than 100 million pieces of jewellery annually, and the shift avoids significant greenhouse gas emissions, as mining requires more energy and resources than recycling.
The carbon footprint of recycled silver is one-third compared to mined silver, while the recycling of gold produces less than 1% of the carbon emissions from mining new gold.
As an example, the carbon footprint of a Pandora family tree charm made with 100% recycled silver is only 230 grams CO2, which is less than the emissions of a café latte.
To put this into further context, Pandora said if all silver and gold used by the entire jewellery industry came from recycled sources, it would avoid more than 53 million tonnes of CO2.
Alexander Lacik, president and CEO at Pandora, said: “Silver and gold are our most important raw materials, and by moving to 100% recycled we reduce our climate impact significantly without compromising on quality or craftsmanship. This achievement is unparallelled in the industry and a major step towards a more circular business model.”
