The Birmingham Press

West Midlands mum launches sustainable jewellery brand

Green ecommerce brand aims to provide environmentally friendly fashion.

A West Midlands mum has launched a brand new ecommerce brand to help challenge fast-fashion and encourage more people to shop sustainably. Ruth Morris has founded Influenstar, an ethical jewellery brand that offers pieces made from recycled 925 silver and shipped in eco-friendly packaging.

Ruth Morris, from Sutton Coldfield, launched Influenstar during Black Friday weekend to challenge the notion of fast, disposable fashion and start encouraging more people to shop in a sustainable way. Influenstar’s jewellery has had a previous life and is made using recycled silver, which omits the damaging mining and refining processes of extracting new resources from the earth. By skipping this process, Influenstar helps create less waste, cut down on C02 emissions, reduce water usage and other environmental impacts.

The mum of two was inspired to start the business after looking at every day ways to reduce her environmental impact. She comments: “The pandemic has shown us the importance of protecting each other and the world around us, which is something that became even more important to me after having my two girls. I wanted to do everything that I could, as a mum and a consumer, to protect my daughter’s future.

“I’m a big lover of fashion and jewellery – always have been – but it’s shocking when you start to look at the impact of the fast, throwaway fashion we’ve all become accustomed to. Some brands are starting to move away from this, but I saw there was a real gap in the market for fun, young and accessible jewellery, that’s desirable but doing its bit for the planet.

“I want to educate my customers about the need to use recycled jewellery and hope that then impacts some of their wider buying habits. From our packaging to our actual jewellery pieces, it was extremely important to me from the get-go that we’d be able to provide our customers with guilt-free, quality products that don’t compromise style or sustainability, as much as possible.”

Inspired by her passion for accessories and wanting to change her own buying habits, Ruth started researching suppliers when she was on furlough during the first lockdown. She then launched the online store in November, during one of the busiest online shopping weekends.

“The initial reaction to Influenstar shows me that I was absolutely right to spot a gap in the market. More and more people are looking at ways to reduce their environmental footprint and this is a great way to do it… you can still look great, but without a guilty conscience. I’m so excited to see what 2021 has in store for the brand!”

Influenstar stocks a range of earrings, necklaces, pendants, bracelets and rings; all pieces created with repurposed silver and finished with gold-plating. To find out more and to purchase your first piece of jewellery from Influenstar, visit theinfluenstar.com.

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