The worlds most sustainable jewellery

Back in 2013 Lily Cole launched a jewellery collection made from wild Amazonian rubber, in collaboration with Sky Rainforest Rescue. It was a powerful piece of PR which set out to make people reconsider how fashion items are sourced and the impact they might have on the world.

Not only was it a beautiful collection featuring natural, wild rubber, but it had a very special story behind it. The rubber was ethically sourced from community of villagers in North West Brazil who obtain or tap the rubber from wild trees (rather than from land deforested for plantation trees). With the farmers paid fairly and the rubber sustainable, this meant the natural Amazon forest could be protected, and could be worth more alive than dead.

After being so moved by this worthy plight, I did some research and discovered that Flavia Amadeu was also an important player on this project. She was the connection with the community in Brazil, and already had her own jewellery collection made from wild rubber. I met with Flavia and briefly considered working with the rubber myself - designing my own collection to support the cause. However, I felt that Flavia was already doing amazing things that I couldn't really compete with, so I decided not to pursue it.

So I was very excited to learn today that her work and plight are now being featured in an exhibition at the V&A. Fashioned by Nature explores the complex relationship between fashion and nature, and is described as an "inspiring show determined to incite change". So I will certainly be making a visit.

You can read more about Lily Cole's collection here. and check out Flavia's awesome wild rubber jewellery collection here.