Green and Frugal: Eco-Friendly Jewelry

Earrings made from translucent milk jugs.

I'm always looking for green and frugal products to promote. I couldn't resist eco-design artist Jessie Katz, especially since she's also local to me. Here's a little bit about Jessie and her environmentally-friendly accessories:

Eco-friendly jewelry designer, Jessie Katz (Nyack, NY) was a recent finalist in the NBC sponsored contest, The Art Of ReUse, in honor of Earth Week 2011. Jessie's handmade earrings, fashioned from recycled gift cards, earned her a spot among the ten finalists from across the country. The contest was launched by NBC's green initiative, Green is Universal, in association with handmade marketplace Etsy, and featured the most creative "ReUsed" project submissions on the Today Show. Celebrity judges included Martha Stewart, Hoda Kotb & Kathie Lee, Andy Cohen, Tori Spelling, Angela Matusik and Lauren Bush.

Each pair of Jessie's colorful, one-of-a-kind earrings are the result of the artist's ever changing stock of gift cards, donated to her by local businesses, friends and customers. They are hand-cut and given a second life as fantastic eco-friendly accessories. Jessie started her business, Designosaurus, in 2008 with the mission to provide sustainable handmade jewelry and art pieces. She is currently focused on creating jewelry from unexpected post-consumer materials including used gift cards, expired credit cards, scrap wood and vintage or broken jewelry. Her earrings are available locally at ML Gifts and Accessories (South Nyack, NY), and on her website at http://www.jessiekatz.etsy.com/.

Do you tend to select jewelry that is sustainable? I'd love to hear what you think of Jessie's designs.