SUSTAINABILITY has become one of the major business goals for many brands, but one jewelry company has decided to step it up a notch and only work with like-minded suppliers, as well as using recycled silver and gold.
Wonther launched just months before the Covid-19 pandemic hit and has still managed to continue growing at a very rapid pace.
Olga Kassian graduated as an engineer from the University of Aveiro in Portugal after escaping Ukraine, while it was still part of the Soviet Union, when she was just a child.
“I was always taught that whatever I wanted to achieve, it had to be by myself because business wasn’t for everyone – you had to have money, connections, and all those things that an immigrant’s daughter usually doesn’t have,” she told The US Sun in an exclusive interview.
“So I grew up very focused on studying science. I have an engineering degree. However, there was a year that I had the chance to live in New York City and while there, it opened my eyes to a whole different world.
“It made me feel like it was possible for me to start my own creative line without focusing on money, profits, or exploiting people. I actually started to enjoy fashion and I saw it as a form of expression that I could do in an ethical way.”
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Moving back to Portugal, Kassian stayed with the idea until it dawned on her that she could actually start a jewelry line while staying close to her values.
“Jewelry has this power of holding on to memories and feelings, and we all have a piece that we connect to a moment or person,” she said, alluding to necklaces or rings that people will consider “lucky.”
“It made sense because I can put all these values and emotions into my creations and my idea started to come together.”
Additionally, jewelry is a nod to her home Ukraine.
“In Ukraine, because it’s a poorer country, people hold on to jewelry because it gives them value. I have jewelry from my mother, who got it from her mother, so this whole idea of storing memories comes from my home.”
And in November 2019, Wonther was born.
Founded on three pillars, Kassian’s jewelry line was based on being ethical, sustainable, and feminist.
Mining for precious metals causes a lot of pollution and destroys the area it’s being done.
You can no longer use that land for anything else, except for mining.
Kassian then focused on finding a sustainable source that complies with ethical standards, such as paying their employees livable wages, creating as little pollution as possible, and slamming any bribery, corruption, and insider trading.
“Is having multiple suppliers more important to us than having an ethical supplier? And the answer was no,” she said.
On top of that, everything about the Wonther brand is sustainable, including its packaging and jewelry creation.
As for the brand itself, Kassian wanted something that actually made a difference so each of her pieces is based on having a meaning and a social campaign.
“This lets us support causes we care about,” Kassian told us.
But like a lot of businesses, the Covid-19 pandemic put a halt on their plans as they came back to Portugal just one week before the lockdown.
“That was a big shock for us and it hit us hard because, as a brand new brand, how do you manage this? We didn’t have established clients, but everything was fine. With a lot of effort, we survived,” she explained.
Very early in the process, though, Wonther found new ways to reach bigger and wider audiences while continuing to preach sustainability.
Therefore, the brand began using unwanted and recycled jewelry to create its own pieces.
“We all have jewelry at home that we don’t wear anymore and we can reuse,” she explained.
“We can actually be a vehicle to create new jewelry with these pieces we don’t use anymore, including maybe a lone earring because you lost the other one.
“We can recycle all these precious metals because there is enough silver circulating in the world to supply the current production, people just don’t recycle anymore.”
With this idea in mind, the brand created its campaign called Love, Give Back, Repeat, where people donate their unwanted silver pieces and get a 20 percent discount to use for their next purchase.
“When we have an economically viable amount, we will reintroduce these into our supply chain and create new jewelry,” she explained.
“We already have a significant amount and aim to launch a full collection made out of recyclable pieces.”
Additionally, during the pandemic, Kassian questioned why her brand mainly targeted women – and realized it was how societal norms had affected her brand: women wear jewelry.
“I don’t think this makes sense anymore. My brand can be for anyone who wants to wear my pieces,” she revealed.
“When you stray too much from the conventional, it scares off people and it affects revenue, but to me, it was more important to invest in something we believe in than losing a few customers.”
Wonther then went into a restructuring and they had to change everything about their marketing.
“When we made our brand gender-neutral, we didn’t scrap what we already created. What I have can be worn by anyone,” she added.
Most recently, Wonther just released a collaboration with Grammy-nominated artist, producer, and label head Tokimonsta focused on mushrooms.
“Mushrooms embody resilience, a trait not only valuable to fungi, but to the whole ecosystem,” the website reads.
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“Their resilient nature enables them to propagate and thrive under harsh conditions.”
And now, Wonther has found success with anyone and everyone who simply loves to wear jewelry, while thinking about the bigger picture surrounding our planet.
