Digital Literacy for Designers: 7| "Ethical Costume Jewelry Business Model" research project overview

I am interested in industrial design of fashion accessories, such as jewelry, bags, and shoes. I also find a challenge of mass produced fashion products combined with sustainability very interesting because it requires both the aesthetics of the object as well as protecting nature. My experience as a recycled material product design volunteer in Thailand really motivates me to explore the sustainable direction that best suits the fashion jewelry business that I would like to end up with in the future. Therefore, I have chosen ‘Modern Ethical Fashion Jewelry Business’ as my final project topic for digital literacy class.

Apart from the international controversies of dirty gold and blood diamonds in the fine jewelry industry, critical problems in the environment and humanity are also found in the costume jewelry industry. The problems vary from potentially harmful toxic metal found in costume jewelry pieces manufactured in China, to many costume jewelry businesses and manufacturers shutting down in Rhode Island, as well as low pay wages in manufacturing countries, such as China, Mexico, Thailand, and Taiwan.

http://www.peopleandtheplanet.com

So far, the ethical movement in the jewelry business has been growing. It helps not only to positively market the designed product, improve the quality of artisans’ communities, promote traditions, and minimize waste from manufacturing, but also encourages entrepreneurs to be better-rounded about sustainability concerns in their total process —including design, production, and collaboration aspects. The topic I have chosen resonates with my dream about establishing my own business selling costume and fine-fashion jewelry that collaborates with hill tribe communities in Thailand, known for their stunningly beautiful embroidery and tribal jewelry. My business goal will primarily be sustaining ethnic Thai artisans’ quality of life while maintaining my passion in jewelry design and development.

http://www.bareo-isyss.com

Vogue Thailand February 2013

My research consisted of 4 parts —history overview of the ethical movement in the costume jewelry industry, comparing typical jewelry business models to those who employ sustainable practices, analyzing case studies, and my adaptation for my own conceptual business. My online information hunting session for research began with finding a definition in Google of sustainability in fashion and the jewelry business. On academia.edu, I found the scholarly research related to the ethical fashion movement in history. Next for the case study portion, I used both FIT library database and google to randomly click on the links and select the potential examples by throwing specific keywords inside the parentheses symbol (“ ”), in order to filter only necessary content. I also searched some keywords, such as design activism, business and brands.