Every piece is hand-carved and made WITH LOVE

Raising aWEARness

Raising awareness with jewelry designed to craft change

aWEARness ; to be adorned with realization and knowledge of self and of our global community

Lena is a true citizen of the world who knows in her heart there is so much more that can be done to heal our planet. She believes we must care for each other globally, and that deep care starts from within. Each piece of Lena’s hand-crafted jewelry is designed to heal the wearer and the world, from initial concept to everyday wear. 

 

Pure Earth is a nonprofit organization that works with communities around the world to protect children, reduce pollution, and stop cruelty in gold mines. 

Pure Earth works to empower women gold miners, address mercury pollution from artisanal small-scale gold mining (the leading source of mercury pollution globally), and restore land that has been damaged by gold mining.

 

 Women gold miners: This Pure Earth initiative is to increase the participation of women in the sector, and ultimately to promote equal rights, opportunities and benefits to help them pursue sustainable livelihoods in mining and energy. 


Mercury pollution: Not only is mercury from mining affecting the health of miners and their families directly, it is also getting into our oceans. Earth’s purpose is preventing the use of mercury, but also preserving the livelihood of miners who are supporting their families through this work.  
 

 

Reforestation: Pure Earth is the first non-profit to successfully restore a swath of the Amazon rainforest in Peru that was degraded by artisanal gold mining and our current work in Peru has a continued focus on this reforestation work.


The (very) hard facts behind the mission:

  • It is estimated that around 1 million children work in mines throughout the world.

  • Mining is considered a form of hazardous labor unfit for children under any circumstances, including poverty. Mining can lead to serious injuries, life-long health consequences (respiratory ailments, hearing & vision loss, joint problems), and death. In addition to these risks, child miners in gold also face potential side effects from working with Mercury, a highly toxic substance used to extract gold. Mercury poisoning can affect a child’s brain, heart, kidneys, and lungs and can lead to long-term developmental disabilities.

  • Children ages 5-17 work in mines for as little as $2 per day. Due to the relatively small number of child miners (one million), compared to child laborers in agriculture (100 million+), child mining has not received the attention it deserves.

  • Western countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom are top destinations for products of child mining. Consumers often buy diamonds, gold and precious gems from retailers without knowing the origin of their jewelry.
Source: http://stopchildlabor.org

 

Purchase with Purpose