A company called Mines Advisory Group, which co-won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997, is helping to change the world for the better with another inspiring project: turning UXOs (unexploded ordnance or bombs) into handmade jewelry.
The woman who started it all is Elizabeth Suda, a New York native and the owner of Article 22 – a company which brings ethical jewelry to reality with the #peacebomb collection. According to a piece on the project in PBS.com, first broadcast on PBS NewsHour, there are some 80 million bombs that haven’t yet exploded in Laos, all dropped during the Vietnam War. Four decades later, these bombs are still killing or maiming civilians, children among them.
After being turned into jewelry, the pieces are sold through article22.com and the Giving Tuesday website, which enables holiday shoppers to purchase and pledge the proceeds to their favorite charities. Last year, according to the piece, over 700,000 holiday shoppers pledged more than $110 million to their favorite charities.
Proceeds from the sale of Suda’s jewelry on the Giving Tuesday website and article22.com go to MAG (Mines Advisory Group) to safely clear the artisans’ fields of the unexploded bombs. Therefore, each piece of hand-crafted jewelry, made from the aluminum components of these bombs, could potentially save lives.
Elizabeth Suda isn’t the only jeweler in the US who tries to turn the world’s weapons into bracelets and rings. From War to Peace, a green company based in California, has a pretty inspiring venture of its own. The company recycles and sells jewelry made from copper from disarmed nuclear weapon systems. The alloy they create is called Peace BronzeTM, from which they create jewelry and art. The copper they use was originally mined in Montana, then used as the cabling that carried launch codes to Minuteman III Nuclear Missiles in the American Midwest. According to their website, 20% of From War to Peace profits “is dedicated to peace and social justice organizations committed to transforming our world”.
Another man turning weapons into jewelry is Peter Thum, founder and owner of Fonderie 47, a company which makes fine jewelry and watches. All the pieces the company makes and sells – timepieces, rings, earrings, etc. – are partly made from the recycled components of AK-47s seized as part of disarmament efforts in Central Africa. According to a piece in NPR.com, each sale then helps support efforts to rid Africa of guns by MAG – the same company who’s helping Elizabeth Suda to realize her dream.
