Fashion and jewelry have a poor reputation when it comes to climate and sustainability: they are wasteful to produce and often exploit the world’s poorest workers. 

Beeline, one of the largest international makers of fashion jewelry and accessories, is doing things differently; while the company’s one purpose is to understand their customers’ needs to express themselves, Ulrich Beckmann, Founder at Beeline, says that they are determined to transform the industry through the power of sustainable small changes:

“Small things matter – like bees: small animals who are responsible for biodiversity of our life.”

A prime example of this is the company’s approach to green energy, as Beckmann explains: 

“We run the business with photovoltaic panels and with geothermal systems, which means that we don’t need energy from outside. And we are proud of it.”

Stefanie Harig, Head of Brand Management at Beeline, says that the company has been on a ten year journey to putting sustainability at the heart of the business’s operations:

“Our motivation to get more sustainable as a company is based on the fact that sustainability is important for all of us. All of our actions we are doing are based on sustainability and sustainability is now one main pillar of our corporate DNA.“

This commitment is evident in the company’s use of recycled material through many of their product ranges. Harig says that recycling is the way forward for the company: 

“Sustainability is influencing the whole process of product development in a huge way. In every process step, there are already some categories well developed, like sunglasses or soft textiles or stainless steel, but we are also adapting our fashion jewelry collections to increase the share of recycled materials in general.”

Harig cites examples such as sunglasses made entirely of recycled polyester from plastic bottles, plus new collections of jewelry made from 100 percent recycled sterling silver and brass. Harig says that the aim is to “convert all categories at Beeline to recycled materials.” 

Susith Salgado, employee at one of Beeline’s Producing Partners, says that they have enjoyed a fruitful collaboration that has seen benefits on both sides:  

“We’ve been working with Beeline for about 10 years. They work very closely with us in terms of auditing us, visiting and training. Beeline has helped us switch packaging so that it’s more recyclable.”

This has even extended to the factory’s use of water: 

“We were able to reduce the water used in production. In addition, we have a treatment facility on site, to make sure that discharged water is safe for the environment. Anything that we can’t handle we pass on to a third party that takes care of it for us.” 

Sustainability continues throughout the supply chain to ensure that Beeline runs as an efficient business with processes designed to mitigate and eliminate waste. Sabrina Schäfer, Team Manager, Project Management Logistics at Beeline says: 

“In terms of sustainability, our main challenge from a transportation standpoint is really the handling of our trending product; they need to be in our stores before the trend is already over. In packaging, we already started changing the stickers on our poly bags so that we can ensure that we can do 100 percent recycling. We have also invested in machinery to reduce the use of packing materials, saving space and reducing container numbers.”

As well as sustainability at home, Beeline is determined to have a positive impact on the environment through its suppliers, too. As Harald Steber, Sustainability Manager at Beeline explains, good for the planet must also mean good for people: 

“We have a Supplier Code of Conduct that is mandatory for all our suppliers. For example we’re not allowing child or forced labor. If you don’t follow our rules, you cannot work with us.”

Steber says that Project Togo is an example of how Beeline has made a lasting, positive change: 

“We cooperate with people in the southern part of Togo, planting many different trees, green leaves, and fruit trees because this makes the forest even more valuable for people living there. We not only reduce CO2 by using recycled materials, but also we offset through the plantings whatever we cannot reduce.”

But Project Togo is not beeline’s only partner: Oxfam Ireland funds social projects through their support, and over the years beeline has become the charity’s largest partner.

For Ulrich Beckmann, business is personal and reflects the values that leadership and employees alike wish to see in the world: 

“Beeline is a family-owned business and we think long-term. All our teams work on the goal to decarbonize our product and to create a circular economy. We want to treat people and nature the way we want to be treated ourselves.”