Is there such a thing as eco-friendly jewelry that isn't made out of wood or straw or something?
—Eileen, via the Ask Style inbox

Yes! In fact, it's even possible to get, you know, real jewelry—metal stuff that shines—and to feel good about the earth at the same time.

Take Julia Failey, a Chicago-based designer who works in the relatively hard-to-find medium of mixed metals. (Why wear silver when you can wear silver and gold, right?) Failey has managed to source her metals with minimum impact to the environment, choosing reclaimed, deoxidized sterling silver to reduce the need for destructive mining, for example. Also, deoxidized sterling is silver alloyed with tin rather than copper, making it tarnish resistant and easily recycled.

There are also some wonderful jewelry designers working with reclaimed metals on Etsy. I particularly like Wired Originals, which has a modern, strong sensibility—and very reasonable prices. So your choices are wider than you think.

Now you can shine on and make the earth a little brighter, too.

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