Lily Cole created the line to help raise money
Lily Cole's CV is expanding once again, as the model, actress and environmentalist adds designer to the list.
Lily has launched, today, an exclusive jewellery line in collaboration with Sky Rainforest Rescue – Sky and WWF’s partnership to help save one billion trees in the Amazon rainforest
The limited-edition collection brings a piece of the rainforest to the UK, using Amazonian wild rubber sourced solely from rubber tappers in the Sky Rainforest Rescue project area in Acre, Northwest Brazil.
The classic collection features a two-way rubber pendant, earrings, bracelet and ring set with delicate rubber embellishment. Available in feminine pastel tones as well as timeless black, the collection offers the perfect accessory for S/S13.
Lily Cole commented: “One of the reasons I was excited to join this campaign was to explore the rubber industry as a vehicle for green economics, which, if scaled, I see as offering real hope to the rainforest.
"Visiting the rubber tappers and their families really inspired me and I wanted to find a way to bring their story back to the UK. This jewellery collection is just one example of how wild rubber can be used.
"However, if in the future the value of wild rubber can exceed what can be made from products that cause deforestation, then there is the real potential for a sustainable green economy.”
The jewellery is stocked exclusively with online retailer Stylistpick.com, with prices ranging from £10 for rings to £25 for pendants. 100% of the profits will go back to the rainforest to support Sky and WWF’s work to make the forest worth more alive than dead to the local communities.
As ambassador for Sky Rainforest Rescue, Lily is exploring ways for rainforest people to make a living without cutting down the forest.
Acre state was once a global centre of rubber production but, having been out-competed by cheaper unsustainable synthetic and plantation rubber, many of Acre’s rubber tapping communities have started to cut down trees to grow crops and raise livestock. The jewellery aims to raise awareness for the viability and versatility of Amazonian wild rubber, which can give the local communities an alternative option that keeps trees standing.