B-Corp Profile Commentary

Olivia Burd

Dr. Hood

Business and Organizational Writing

October 6, 2024

Assignment 2: B-Corp Commentary

As concerns grow for the health of our environment, it becomes increasingly important that companies find ways to make sustainable products. Wanderlust Life, a sustainable UK-based jewelry company that is “determined to develop practices that preserve and promote the environment” (Roberts). Wanderlust Life became a B-Corp certified company just earlier this year, but for the past ten years, its mission has not changed: to protect our environment.

Wanderlust Life was established back in 2013, by a British woman named Georgie Roberts. Robert’s founded this company while she was living on the Atlantic coast of Devon, a part of the South West Peninsula of Great Britain. The company is still in this location; surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, making the environment a foreground for Wanderlust Life. Per the company website, “Nature is our constant inspiration, so sustainability and the importance of people and the planet are at the heart of what we do” (Roberts). With sustainability as one of the main missions of the company, they have created an elaborate Code of Conduct that all of their partners must agree to as part of their partnership. Despite the fact that 80 percent of the pieces are crafted by hand in a Devon studio, they have also outsourced to other jewelry specialists.

According to the website, all of the companies Wanderlust Life partners with are certified members of the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), and have agreed to the Code of Conduct. The RJC claims that “through our standards, certification and collaborative initiatives, RJC aims to build trust, transparency, and sustainability across the entire jewellery supply chain, ultimately benefiting consumers, communities and the environment” (RJC). This means that the partners goals and initiatives in terms of sustainability and protecting our environment align with Wanderlust Life’s. These partnerships are a reason this jewelry is trusted by many to remain sustainable and good for the environment.

An important part of this Code of Conduct agreement is the Material Traceability and Transparency section. The key takeaways from this section are that Wanderlust Life is asking that their partners “use recycled goods where possible”, as a majority of theirs are from 100% recycled materials. Wanderlust Life also states that “within our studio, we recycle any unused silver, to avoid unnecessary waste and to contribute to a circular economy” (CodeofConduct). They are asking that their partners do the same in order to make sure that the environment is always kept in mind.

Limiting waste is essential to protecting the environment which is why Wanderlust Life is so adamant that there is as little waste as possible. To uphold this standard, they have created a Commitment to Waste Reduction which states that, “small runs yield less waste. We deliberately create our collections in limited quantities. We make the majority of our jewellery to order, while anything outsourced to our partners is produced in small runs. We operate in this way to ensure sell-through and to eliminate waste” (Roberts). This is important to note because it means that each piece is just that more special as it’s one of a few rather than one of millions.

Despite their heavy focus on sustainability and protecting the environment, at the end of the day it is still a jewelry company that has a goal to make unique, yet beautiful jewelry. To Wanderlust Life it’s important to them that they are able to “produce handmade, purposeful pieces designed to carry intention, capture a memory, make a statement and spread love” (Roberts).

References

Reisert, P. (2024, October 4). Our Story. Responsible Jewellery Council. https://www.responsiblejewelle...

Roberts, G. (n.d.). Sustainability: Wanderlust life jewellery. Wanderlust Life. https://wanderlustlife.co.uk/pages/sustainability-at-wanderlust-life

Wanderlust Life. (2024). Supplier Code of Conduct.