A few weeks ago, our Green Stylist writer Jodi did a post on “Share the Love“, an event dedicated to providing marketing and public relations services to philanthropic fashion brands. One of the brands featured at the event was The Andean Collection: a beautiful collection of fair trade, ethical jewelry created through a collaboration between a jewelry designer in New York and artisans in rural Ecuador.

Founder of the Andean Collection Amanda Judge began her jewelry company while researching women in poverty in Ecuador. Inspired by Ecuadorian artisan’s sustainable ways of creating jewelry using rainforest seeds, she saw that there was a way to bring these beautiful objects into the global market while providing jobs and employment to these impoverished artisans. Thus the Andean Collection was born, featuring natural materials such as açaí seeds, tagua nuts, pambil seeds, and more. These things may sound foreign to us, but they are 100% natural, harvested from the rainforest, and transformed as you can see below:

The Andean Collection shows us how people like Amanda are bringing global economies closer together and improving the lives (and livelihoods) of people across hemispheres. By supporting the Andean Collection we can show the increasing demand for sustainable, socially responsible products. Now with even big names like Anthropologie carrying Andean Collection jewelry, you can see this is an exciting step forward for the green fashion industry. Pictured below is their ever popular Floresta Necklace, a beautiful piece featuring flat tagua chips and a leather tie closure. They have also expanded with a new collection of handmade woven belts in beautiful bold hues reminiscent of the culture and energy of South America.

You can read more closely about the Andean Collection’s growing company on their blog. It’s got tons of insight on running a fair trade, socially responsible business as well as information on the women behind the scenes at the Andean Collection. Find The Andean Collection online or at a boutique near you!