Crystal Realm is committed to reducing our impact on the environment at every opportunity.  Tom and I work constantly to reduce the carbon footprint of our business and our home.  Since our business is in our home, work on one impacts the other.

We're also committed to working with artists and vendors who exemplify ethical business practices and who work to reduce negative environmental impacts.

I'll start by outlining some of the practices that Tom and I have already put into place in our home/office.  Then I'll describe the ethical and environmental practices of some of our most important vendors, including our world-class diamond supplier.

Crystal Realm Home/Office

1.  Web-Based Business
 By 2005, we had closed our three stores and gone totally web-based.  Shopping online is a great way to reduce your energy use and ours.  Instead of 200 people a day driving their cars to our stores, now you and our other customers order online.  At most, 3 vehicles per day pick up all of our shipments and distribute them through existing channels of delivery.

2.   Reuse, Reuse, Reuse!
Our vendors ship to us in cardboard boxes, often with packing "peanuts."  We reuse shipping boxes to ship to you, and we always reuse the packing peanuts, bubble wrap, and packing paper.  When we purchase peanuts, they are cellulose and entirely biodegradable.  We're also moving away from a variety of gift items towards more jewelry, as jewelry requires far fewer packing materials than gifts.

3.  Reuse Some More
Over the last three years, we've reduced our waste products going to the landfill or to recycling by about 80%.  Find out how!  (Link coming soon!)

4. Buy Recycled and Reuse
We use recycled building materials at every opportunity. For painting, we use low Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) paints.

4.  Compact Fluorescent Bulbs
We've changed almost all our light bulbs to compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFL's) that use only about 7-13 watts, rather than incandescents that use 60 or more watts.  The compact fluorescents not only use less energy, but they last many times longer than incadescent bulbs.  Converting just one conventional light bulb to a compact fluorescent bulb can save you up to $30 in electric costs over its lifetime.  Learn more about compact fluorescent light bulbs. Between home, office, and barn, we've likely swapped out at least 30 bulbs for CFL's.

5.  Reducing Fuel Use
Closing 3 stores and going totally web-based reduced our fuel use by two-thirds. Then we went further . . . Tom converted his pickup to run on waste vegetable oil.  This is food-grade oil that's already been used to feed people, and it can be filtered and used to run a diesel vehicle.  This is only a small-scale solution, but it works for now for Tom's truck and the folks in the few cooperatives we're in touch with.  (We are opposed to the use of food crop land for fuel crops; the difference with waste vegetable oil is that it's already been used for food.)

6. More Energy Reduction
We've reduced the energy used by our swamp cooler by approx. 60% simply by covering skylights in the summer with garden shade fabric, doing the same with windows on the west side of the house, and putting up awnings over the east facing windows.  We've reduced our dryer use to zero by hanging clothes outside to dry during dry weather.

7.  The Next Step
We've salvaged enough four inch foam insulation to reinsulate our entire house, including the roof; enough solar water panels to provide all hot water and to heat the house/office, and just need to find the time to insulate, restucco, and get the systems set up.  Our 2-3 year goal is to also switch to photovoltaics for electricty production, so that we can run our electric meter in reverse.  By the time we're done with our complete energy-reduction plan, we will likely have reduced our energy use by 90%.


Our Vendors' Commitments to Ethical Business Practices and Sustainability
(This section will be expanded over June and July, 2008)

Stuller, Inc., our world-class diamond vendor has published their commitments to ethical business practices from the mine to your custom jewelry item.

Please read the Stuller, Inc. policy.

Rio Grande Albuquerque
RGA is another long-time jewelry parts and tool supplier for Crystal Realm (since 1984.  RGA has diligently worked on its supply chain to ensure that all of its product offerings are made in ways that are not harmful to the environment, that all are made under more-than-fair labor conditions, and that everyone in their supply chain receives equitable pay.

Our Clearance Section
Note that while we have a few gift items that were U.S. designed and crafted in China in our Clearance Section, they represent stock left from our stores from an earlier time.  We no longer do business with companies that make their goods in China, not only for reasons of fair labor practices and equitable pay, but also because we see that importing mass quantities of goods from China is not an environmentally sustainable practice.