Why Does Local Sourcing Matter?

According to Green Car Reports, “[o]ne giant container ship pollutes the air as much as 50 million cars. Which means that just 15 ships [of] that size emit as much as today’s entire global ‘car park’ of roughly 750 million vehicles.”

By sourcing as much of my supplies as possible from within North America, Solstice Eve minimizes contributing to the horrendous environmental destruction caused by international shipping.

For more details, please visit: https://solsticeeve.co/pages/ethics

The Modern Slavery Crisis

Modern slavery is direly worsening. The UN reports that between 2016 and 2021, the number of people experiencing slavery increased by 10 million people (UN report, 2022). According to the latest Global Estimates of Modern Slavery, right at this moment, an estimated 50 million people globally are experiencing slavery — 22 million of which are undergoing forced labor. This crisis is occurring “in almost every country in the world and cuts across ethnic, cultural and religious lines” with “[m]ore than half of all forced labour… found in upper-middle-income or high-income countries” (UN report, 2022).

By purchasing supplies from reputable, local, and aboveboard companies operating in countries with minimum wage and labor laws in place to protect working people, Solstice Eve can avoid slave labor and support jobs that keep people from becoming at-risk of forced labor. I actively research and avoid disreputable suppliers and countries of origin with known contaminated labor.

For more details, please visit: https://solsticeeve.co/pages/ethics

Plastics

Plastics pose an ecological crisis to our Earth, as “up to 12 million metric tons of plastic enter our ocean[s] each year” — that’s the equivalent of two-hundred & sixty-four Empire State Buildings in plastic annually! To make matters worse, “99% of plastic is made from fossil fuels” and “over 90% of plastic is not recycled” (Greenpeace).

With the alternative materials offered today by science and nature, it is possible to replace plastics with sustainable solutions. As a consumer, I am always looking for products that don’t come wrapped in plastic packaging, and I know how hard it can be to find them! As a business, I have sourced 100% plastic-free packaging materials* and do not use plastic-based art mediums such as resin art and acrylic paint. So you can enjoy my art and jewelry without receiving a whole heap of plastic trash with it!

First-Use Paper

As consumers & companies have begun moving away from plastics, paper products have become highly sought after. The booming demand for first-use (“virgin”) paper products puts immense pressure on the logging industry. Meeting the demand has lead logging companies to drive rapid deforestation — including that of intact and old-growth forests (Baffoni). Rapid deforestation is, in turn, causing social conflict among communities with ancestral connections to the forests and is also harming the endangered animals whose habitats are being destroyed (Greenpeace).

To participate in protecting the environment, its human & animal inhabitants, the forests, and our access to clean air, I use recycled paper products** and packaging made with post-consumer waste. Plastic shipping tape and toxic shipping labels can cause an otherwise recyclable box to become un-recyclable. Instead, I use recyclable shipping labels & tape, keeping the boxes fully recyclable and decreasing my first-use paper footprint.

For more details, please visit: https://solsticeeve.co/pages/ethics