Sustainability at Ro Copenhagen
When we founded Ro Copenhagen in 2015, the definition of our name became a commitment: a feeling of calmness that pervades everything we do. Calmness for creating quality, calmness for thinking our actions through.
We take care of and responsibility for our earth through using 100% recycled 18kt gold, to help minimise mining. Our partners are specifically chosen because they offer fair and healthy working conditions to the individuals in their team, just as we do at Ro Copenhagen's head office in Denmark.
Calmness, well-being and consideration. We actively work with this in mind every day, and we work with openness and transparency. What you see is what you get. Our goal at all times is to be able to look ourselves in the eye. We always do our best and strive to do the right thing, but we are human, not perfect. Each and every day we strive to develop and grow as a company through bettering ourselves.
We prioritise soft skills and seek to create a workplace and a brand full of mutual respect. A place where you’re happy to be every day, a place with a strong sense of unity, inclusivity and shared values. We work towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals, among other things, with gender equality. We are a team where everyone is equal; each person contributing their own special competencies, which form our common strength.
Our visions for a sustainable future
We have defined a number of sustainability goals for Ro, which we will strive to fulfil by 2025.
- 90-100% of our production will be made to order.
- We will exchange ideas and form collaborations with other companies who share our vision for sustainability – for example by eliminating waste in our production.
- Our Danish head office will be a green/carbon neutral workplace that is continuously being improved. We will create an idea bank for sustainable initiatives, where all our employees can regularly contribute with their ideas.
Design with consideration
Ro Copenhagen produces timeless, elegant and understated jewellery. It is designed with delicate features and fine details in carefully measured doses. We have deliberately chosen to only produce in 18kt gold so we can create jewellery with a long life and a longer life cycle. We do not wish to fuel fast consumption or over production. Instead, our designs are brought to life based on the ethos ‘consume with care’. To this end we only produce new designs and collections when we have something really special to share. Small but exclusive. With no minimum requirements for production quantities, we do not overproduce and therefore you will not find Ro on sale, looking to shed itself of overstocked lines.
All our materials are approved
Ro Copenhagen's jewellery is made of 100% recycled 18 kt. gold. Sustainable and certified by the Responsible Jewellery Council. It is nickel free gold of the highest quality. The enduring designs create joy for many years to come – which is a sustainable mindset too.
Ro Copenhagen only works with ethically sourced diamonds and precious stones of natural origin, always untreated and from conflict-free zones in compliance with UN resolutions. All of our stones are sourced from mines that comply with the strictest environmental and human rights standards. We even go beyond standard industry regulations to ensure that we can vouch for every single stone.
Transport should also be sustainable
From 2021, all of our jewellery will be sent with couriers that offer carbon offsetting. This applies to both shipments between our head office and our dealers, and shipments to our web shop customers. To reduce the number of unnecessary shipments, we have developed a comprehensive size guide that has resulted in considerably fewer returns.
Local and global working conditions
Denmark
Ro Copenhagen's head office is located in Ishøj. It doesn’t look particularly special from the outside, but on the inside it has a unique physical and mental work environment. We have a holistic view of the working day. We see the person as a whole, and work through collaborative decision-making and lots of positive energy. All employees have height adjustable desks, daylight therapy lamps, the best digital tools, free lunches, a pension scheme and our company car is electric. We enjoy a communal breakfast and yoga once a week and a Christmas lunch every year. All of this is done with the intention to make the great cooperation at Ro Copenhagen even greater.
Thailand
All jewellery from Ro Copenhagen is handmade. The fine craftwork is carried out by our skilled goldsmiths in Thailand, in two ISO-certified workshops. The workshops are carefully selected, and we enjoy a close relationship with them. Among other things, it enables us to order in small batches and thus avoid overproduction.
The workshops in Thailand are located in a green area with gardens, lawns, vegetable beds and orchards. All employees have access to air conditioning and plenty of fresh air during working hours. The workshops also have plenty of natural light and have undergone rigorous safety procedures to ensure that our goldsmiths work under the best possible conditions we can offer them.
All waste and rubbish is sorted, and the workshops cooperate with BeingHumanity.earth to be a plastic-free workplace.
All of our factory workers receive at least the minimum wage. In addition, we provide bonuses and paid overtime, health insurance and access to free educational courses. Employees are entitled to leave in conjunction with pregnancy and childbirth, illness or further education. The workshops also offer free childcare for employees' children and an annual health check carried out by external health professionals.
New and improved packaging
In 2022, we replaced our old packaging with a beautiful, more sustainable solution. All our packaging is now FSC certified and made from organic cotton. This is a big step in the right direction. Our biggest sin is the foam inside the jewellery boxes. If you know of an environmentally and climate friendly solution to this we would love to hear from you at info@rocopenhagen.com.
Minimising our paper use
Our new digital catalogues have replaced our printed catalogues, but we still need to use some paper, such as for the return forms in our web shop. We use as little paper as possible. However, what we do use is printed on cradle-to-cradle or FSC-certified paper. This means that all paper is either 100% recycled or comes from sustainable forestry. Read more about cradle-to-cradle here and FSC certifications here.
The jewellery can last for years and years and …
Our jewellery designs are intended to be used as everyday objects. They can be passed on to the next generation. They just need to be looked after and cared for properly. Even the best quality materials need a little TLC. Therefore, we have made this comprehensive guide to providing the best possible care for our jewellery.
CO2-neutral online shop
Our online shop emits CO2 because it needs electricity to run the servers that host it. At the same time, our visitors use power on their screens and that counts towards our overall CO2 emissions. That's why we're part of a Danish initiative that invests in large, long-term projects that reduce CO2 emissions.
We have made an active choice to build our webshops on the platform Shopify, which is also CO2-neutral. They invest $5 million annually in technologies and solutions that can solve the climate crisis. All our data in Shopify, as well as our domains run on 100% renewable energy.