JEWELRY MADE FROM BIODEGRADABLE AND/OR RECYCLED MATERIALS

Abstract

An item of jewelry is manufactured almost entirely from biodegradable and/or recycled. According to a presently preferred embodiment, jewelry is made primarily from a cornstarch based resin. The resin is used to form beads which are strung together to form a bracelet, a necklace or an earring. According to some embodiments, a charm bearing an environmental message is attached to the string of beads. The charm may be made from biodegradable material or from recycled metal such as recycled brass. The jewelry is preferably packaged in a clear envelope which is also made from cornstarch based resin. A hang tag is attached to the envelope with organic hemp string. The hang tag is made from unbleached post-consumer waste recycled paper and is printed with a soy based ink.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates broadly to jewelry. More particularly, this invention relates to jewelry which is made from biodegradable and/or recycled materials.

2. State of the Art

The history of jewelry is ancient. Shell beads recently found in Israel are believed to be 100,000 years old. Originally, jewelry served a variety of practical purposes, e.g. as a store of wealth or to hold clothing together. More recently jewelry has been used primarily as adornment. Jewelry has also been used to convey messages. For example, rings are commonly used to identify graduation from an educational institution, membership in an organization, commitment to a partner, etc. Some messages conveyed by jewelry may be considered political such as support for troops in combat, concern for finding the cure for a particular disease such as AIDS, cancer, etc.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An item of jewelry according to the invention is manufactured almost entirely from biodegradable and/or recycled materials and can be worn as a symbol of support for environmentalism. According to a presently preferred embodiment, a bracelet is provided that is made primarily from a cornstarch based resin. The resin is used to form beads which are strung together to form a bracelet. According to the presently preferred embodiment, a charm bearing a message is attached to the bracelet. According to exemplary embodiments, the message on the charm is symbolic of the phrase “no plastic” or is the international symbol for recycling. The charm may be made from biodegradable material or from recycled metal such as recycled brass. The recycled brass may be silver plated or plated with another material. The bracelet is preferably packaged in a clear envelope which is also made from cornstarch based resin. A hang tag is attached to the envelope with organic hemp string. The hang tag is made from unbleached post-consumer waste recycled paper and is printed with a soy based ink. The hang tag preferably is imprinted with environmental messages, the address of a website where more information about environmentalism can be found, an email address for suggestions, and information about how the jewelry was manufactured.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reference to the detailed description taken in conjunction with the provided figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a bracelet with a charm packaged in a clear envelope with a hang tag according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross sectional view taken along line 2-2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1 of a second embodiment of a bracelet with a charm according to the invention;

FIGS. 4-6 are plan views of necklaces according to the invention;

FIG. 7 is a plan view of earrings according to the invention; and

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a bracelet with different sized beads according to the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Turning now to FIG. 1, an item of jewelry 10 according to the invention is manufactured almost entirely from biodegradable and/or recycled materials and can be worn as a symbol of support for environmentalism. According to a presently preferred embodiment, a bracelet is provided that is made primarily from a cornstarch based resin. A suitable resin is PSM.

PSM is an abbreviation for Plastarch Material that is biodegradable resin made from corn starch. It is designed to supplement or even replace conventional petroleum based plastics. PSM is derived from natural agricultural resources and ensure characteristics and performance just like conventional plastic material, but without risking pollution or the need for waste disposal. At the same time, they guarantee to save energy, reduce the use of new resources and biodegrade naturally and safety, without harming our environment. PSM products are stable in the atmosphere. They are biodegradable in compost, wet soil, fresh water, seawater and activated sludge where micro-organisms exist. It will be 62.1% biodegraded in 81 days and fully biodegraded in about 270 days. The table below illustrates the composition of a typical PSM with the ingredients identified by common name as well as CAS (Chemical Abstracts Service) Registry Number.

	Ingredient	Amount	CAS Registry Number
	Corn Starch	80%	9005-25-8
	Hydroxyethyl Cellulose	8%	9004-62-0
	Chitosan	4%	9012-76-4
	Poly (vinyl alcohol)	1%	9002-82-5
	Sodium Stearate	2%	822-16-2
	Glycerol	5%	56-81-5

Returning now to FIG. 1, the resin is used to form beads 12 which are strung together with a filament 14 (see also FIG. 2) through a throughbore 13 in each bead to form a bracelet. The filament 14 is preferably elastic. The beads 12 may be colored with a dye made from herbal tea. According to the presently preferred embodiment, a charm 16 bearing a message is attached to the filament of the bracelet. According to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the message on the charm is symbolic of the phrase “no plastic”. The charm 16 may be made from biodegradable material or from recycled metal such as recycled brass. The recycled brass may be silver plated or plated with another material.

The bracelet 10 is preferably packaged in a clear envelope 18 which is also made from cornstarch based resin. The envelope is sealed about its periphery 20 and a hole 22 is punched in one corner of the envelope. A hang tag 24 is attached to the envelope with organic hemp string 26 which passes through the hole 22 and a similar hole 28 which is punched into the tag 24. The hang tag is made from unbleached post-consumer waste recycled paper and is printed with a soy based ink. The hang tag preferably is imprinted with environmental messages, the address of a website where more information about environmentalism can be found, an email address for suggestions, and information about how the jewelry was manufactured. Preferably, the tag 24 is folded along edge 30 so that it opens to reveal two inner “pages” as well as two outer pages.

FIG. 3 shows a second embodiment of a bracelet 110 wherein similar reference numerals (increased by 100) refer to similar parts. According to this embodiment, the charm 116 bears the international symbol for recycling.

FIGS. 4-6 illustrate necklaces according to the invention. The necklace of FIG. 4 has beads of increasing size leading out from the clasp to the center of the necklace. FIG. 5 shows a necklace comprised of three strands of beads with each strand having different sized beads. FIG. 6 shows a necklace with alternating large and small beads. The small beads may be recycled metal beads.

FIG. 7 shows earrings comprised of a length of beads linked to each other by recycled metal links.

FIG. 8 shows a bracelet having multiple different sized beads which gives the bracelet a more “natural” appearance.

There have been described and illustrated herein several embodiments of jewelry made from biodegradable and/or recycled materials. While particular embodiments of the invention have been described, it is not intended that the invention be limited thereto, as it is intended that the invention be as broad in scope as the art will allow and that the specification be read likewise. It will therefore be appreciated by those skilled in the art that yet other modifications could be made to the provided invention without deviating from its spirit and scope as claimed.

Claims

1. An item of jewelry, comprising:

a plurality of beads made from plastarch material, each bead defining a throughbore;

an endless filament extending through each throughbore joining said plurality of beads.

2. An item of jewelry according to claim 1, further comprising:

a charm coupled to said filament.

3. An item of jewelry according to claim 2, wherein:

said charm bears a message concerning environmentalism.

4. An item of jewelry according to claim 3, wherein:

said message is “no plastic”.

5. An item of jewelry according to claim 3, wherein:

said message is the international symbol for recycling.

6. An item of jewelry according to claim 1, further comprising:

a clear envelope, said beads and said filament being contained within said clear envelope, wherein

said clear envelope is made from plastarch material.

7. An item of jewelry according to claim 6, wherein:

said clear envelope defines an envelope throughbore.

8. An item of jewelry according to claim 6, further comprising:

a hang tag defining a tag throughbore; and

a cord extending through said envelope throughbore and said tag throughbore joining said envelope and said hang tag.

9. An item of jewelry according to claim 8, wherein:

said cord is made of organic hemp.

10. An item of jewelry according to claim 9, wherein:

said hang tag is made of unbleached recycled paper.

11. An item of jewelry according to claim 10, wherein:

said hang tag is imprinted with soy-based ink.

12. An item of jewelry according to claim 1, wherein:

said beads are dyed with herbal tea.

13. An item of jewelry according to claim 1, wherein:

said filament is elastic.

14. An item of jewelry according to claim 1, wherein:

said beads are different sizes.