A Detailed Look at Astor & Orion's Sustainability Practice
EXPLAINING OUR APPROACH TO SUSTAINABILITY BY LOOKING AT THE LIFECYCLE OF OUR JEWELRY
By Karen Hartman - Owner & Founder
Updated April 2026
By design, Astor & Orion is a different type of jewelry brand. It's the result of a lifelong quest to merge my aesthetics with my ethics.
Some see fashion as a frivolous thing. I see fashion as a cultural language that communicates what we value. It's a physical manifestation of our world view on everything from the rights of an individual in society to how we regard the ground we are standing on.
I wanted to launch a brand for a long time before I finally figured out how to do it in a way that I would be proud of. I'm glad I took the time to figure this out because what we do is as unique as it is beautiful.
We are the only jewelry brand using circular design, 3D sculpting, and third-party certified manufacturing to build a comprehensive sustainability strategy. Each one of these elements matters, but it's doing all three together that lets us call this jewelry sustainably and ethically made. Read on to learn more about each stage of our practice.
For a condensed overview of our full sustainability system, visit our sustainability page.
THE RIGHT TIME TO ADDRESS SUSTAINABILITY IS IN THE DESIGN STAGE
From day one, Astor & Orion has embraced the philosophy of Circular Design. It teaches that many of our worldwide environmental issues can be addressed in the design stage. At the most basic level, "trash" is viewed as a design flaw.
As a designer and business owner, my work isn't just thinking about what the customer will buy but also thinking about the whole cycle of how a product is made, used, and what will happen when it has reached the end of its useful life. If ending up in a landfill is the only practical option for my products at the end of their lifecycle, I am doing it wrong.
If you are not familiar with Circular Design, here's a great video from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation that explains this concept. It's less than 4 minutes and covers the big picture well.
HOW ASTOR & ORION APPLIES CIRCULAR DESIGN PHILOSOPHY WHEN CREATING JEWELRY
Now that you understand what we mean about Circular Design, let's talk about our resource loops. Our primary resource loop is the metals in our jewelry. We start with recycled metals at our casting stage. But perhaps even more important than simply using recycled metals, we design in a way that allows our jewelry to be easily recycled again. This means we don't use any stones or a whole host of other materials that would prevent the metal from being reclaimed and returned to its resource loop.
Some would worry that working strictly with metal could be a limiting factor for creating an enticing jewelry design. We overcome this with an extra dose of creativity and an innovative design process that allows us to create incredibly artistic designs that can stand on their own merits without getting "blinged up" with stones.
OUR INNOVATIVE 3D JEWELRY DESIGN PROCESS
We let our imagination run wild and make the most of our 3D sculpting system to create jewelry designs that fully encompass the whole product. The back sides of our jewelry are just as considered as the front sides. Every part of the jewelry comes from the Astor & Orion design language and ethos.
Inspired by the natural world, we favor organic curves and interlocking geometries that can only be created through a hand-driven design process. Our designs are hand sculpted with a digital stylus — a direct descendent of how jewelers of old hand carved wax blocks in preparation for the lost wax casting process.
We start the design process on the computer but don't stop there. We fully prototype and test our designs with our studio 3D printer. This allows us to ensure production is exactly right and cuts down on the waste typically generated during the sampling process.
This level of design work is one of the things that makes our jewelry stand out, but it also has a significant impact on the production stage and our ability as a small brand to make the manufacturing claims we do.
By custom designing and casting the majority of the components used in our jewelry — ear hooks, jump rings, closures — we drastically shorten our supply chain and make the intensive inspections at our casting partner more meaningful. By leading with intentional design, we reduce the risk of working with unregulated subcontractors.
By handing off a fully designed piece to our casting partner, we also allow them to be more profitable — they don't need to devote time and resources toward interpreting sketches or helping us reach the prototype stage. Instead, they can focus on protecting people and planet while producing the highest quality products.
HOW WE ADDRESS ETHICS AND SUSTAINABILITY AT THE MANUFACTURING STAGE
As a former manufacturing agent with over a decade of experience working with factories in Los Angeles and throughout Asia, I can tell you this: good intentions for protecting people and the planet are not enough.
To address environmental protection, worker safety, and work dignity there needs to be a coherent system in place, as well as a process for continuous monitoring and improvement. No single inspection standard addresses the full spectrum of issues I know are important. So I chose a casting partner that has put over 15 years of effort toward achieving third-party certification in multiple areas, with a vertically integrated production process spanning wax, casting, cutting, polishing, finishing, and packaging. They also have sub-loops designed to reclaim and reuse production materials.
We work closely with them to make sure our designs are appropriate for their machinery and that our production lead times are realistic — so there is never pressure to subcontract with uncertified factories.
WHY THIRD-PARTY CERTIFICATION IS A BIG DEAL
Preparation for these certifications can take months or years. They start with training factory representatives on what the standard requires, then a gap analysis identifies what systems need to be in place. Once implemented, the factory can request inspection by an independent third-party company who makes its own determination that the factory's operations conform to the standard. These aren't self-reported claims — they're verified on-site by auditors.
CERTIFICATIONS OUR CASTING PARTNER HOLDS
ISO 9001 — Governs the quality management systems required to meet our specifications. Also an indicator that the management structure is functioning according to international standards for record keeping. Independently audited and renewed.
ISO 14001 — Covers the environmental impacts of the facility at the local level, first achieved in 2012. A difficult standard to achieve because it requires significant capital investment. The fact that they installed a state-of-the-art water filtration system when they built the facility in 2007 was a clear indicator that their concern for the local environment was genuine.
Specifically, all wastewater is filtered on-site using an industrial, multi-stage process that adjusts pH, filters sediments, and removes pollutants. Water quality is continuously monitored. The air exhaust is wet-scrubbed to protect local air quality, and internal air filtration protects workers in polishing and mould-making from fine particulates. The process is tightly controlled enough that they reclaim gold and silver molecules from dust, which are fed back into the refinery stage.
ISO 45001 — Covers the occupational health and safety of workers. Working with industrial processes like furnaces and molten metals requires a robust safety system. Worker injuries are tracked, causes are analyzed, and corrective actions are documented. Their very low injury rate and multiple local government safety awards reflect a system that actually works.
Eco Industrial Town Certificate — Demonstrates coordination and leadership toward sustainability goals in their local province.
Carbon Offset Certificate — Awarded by the Thailand Greenhouse Gas Management Organization. Continuous since 2016.
SEDEX Member / SMETA 4-Pillar Ethical Audit — This third-party social audit examines the total effort to build ethical business practices that support worker welfare. As part of this semi-announced audit, workers are interviewed and supporting documentation — pay stubs, electronic timecards, tax receipts, bank records — is reviewed to verify claims. Worker identity and age are verified by national ID cards. Tier 2 suppliers are disclosed and reviewed for human rights compliance.
- Employment is freely chosen
- Freedom of association
- Working conditions are safe and hygienic
- Child labour shall not be used
- Living wages are paid
- Working hours are not excessive
- No discrimination is practiced
- Regular employment is provided
- No harsh or inhumane treatment is allowed
Universal rights covering UNGP
Management systems and code implementation according to local law, including building structure inspection. Material safety sheets and safety equipment are sufficient and easily accessible.
2025 SMETA Audit Highlights:
- 85% of workers earn above the legal minimum wage
- 99% hold permanent employment
- 0% of workers exceeded 48 hours in a week
- 62% of workers are women — 73% of supervisors are women
- Workers earn a verified living wage, confirmed through formal SMETA audit analysis
- Worker Welfare Committee meets every 3 months
Additional benefits include:
- Six paid days annual holiday
- Three paid days for casual holiday
- Thirteen days paid for traditional holiday
- Thirty days paid sick leave
- 90 days paid maternity leave
- Contributions to national social security plan
- Uniform
- Annual bonus
- Free lunch on site
- Accident insurance
- Long service award
- Annual company trip
- Funeral allowance
They are also well known and well regarded in the local community — hosting local soccer leagues on their two soccer fields and sponsoring a Taekwondo class on the factory grounds. I have personally inspected the facility and arranged for periodic visits by our own independent QC team, who have consistently found it operating to the same high standards reflected in the certifications.
CONTINUING OUR SUSTAINABILITY PRACTICE THROUGH LOGISTICS
We offer carbon offsets to account for the carbon created during shipping through Eco Cart. As our products are packed and shipped to us in Seattle, we continue working to reduce waste, minimize plastics, and mitigate our carbon footprint.
CONTINUING OUR SUSTAINABILITY PRACTICE THROUGH PACKAGING
We place the highest priority on compostable materials for our packaging. All jewelry is shipped from our casting partner to us using industrially compostable bags. We ship orders to customers only in 100% cotton pouches, recycled tissue paper, and recycled cardboard mailing boxes with recycled paper labels. We are still working on a substitution for plastic tape.
Our pouches are designed to be reusable — useful for packing jewelry when traveling, with an interior partition to prevent pieces from rubbing against each other.
We have partnered with Seattle-based Ridwell to make sure hard-to-recycle items from our office — lightbulbs, printer cartridges, plastic films — don't end up in a landfill.
ADVOCATING FOR THE SUSTAINABLE FASHION COMMUNITY
Doing this work well means being part of a broader community that holds each other accountable. We are a vetted member of Fair Trade LA, a network of businesses committed to fair trade principles across their supply chains. We also support Fashion Revolution and the Seattle Remake Community.
On policy, we put our name where our values are. In 2021, Astor & Orion was one of over 60 fashion businesses to sign an open letter demanding passage of California's Garment Worker Protection Act (SB 62) — legislation designed to eliminate wage theft endemic to the garment industry and establish a living wage floor for garment workers. We have also worked to support The Fabric Act.
THE END OF OUR JEWELRY'S LIFECYCLE
All good things must come to an end. That's why we have a jewelry take-back program. Because we were thoughtful in the design stage, we can recycle old pieces by weight through our local metals recycling service in Seattle — no international shipping, lower carbon footprint.
To encourage participation, customers receive a credit toward a future purchase when they send something back. To get started, email us at closetheloop@astorandorion.com.
Curious about how we put this into practice? See our full sustainability overview.