Melissa Joy Manning founded her namesake luxury jewelry brand with sustainability as the core-driving ethos. When she realized her passion for local production and fair wages constituted as “socially sustainable,” she looked deeper into her practices and asked herself: “What is my impact?”.

Furthering her work with sustainability, Manning began using recycled metals, questioning stone traceability and collecting green certifications for her processes and retail stores. She has been leading the way over the last 20 years as sustainability has grown from a hippie’s hobby into a thriving movement.

Manning is much more than just a designer and a jeweler. She also is an educator and a mentor. She co-founded the CFDA Sustainability Committee and is an active mentor to the designers participating in the CFDA + Lexus Fashion* Initiative.

“You can create more change from within.” said Manning. “If you’re preaching to the choir, the choir already sings. You’ve got to get to the people who are off-tune, and then there’s more voices that can make better music.”

Comparable to the apparel side of the industry, jewelry faces big challenges with lack of supply chain transparency and industry certification standards. Manning encourages her mentees to find their place in this conversation, no matter what the size of their company is.

“We all have inherent power,” she said. “However we want to use our voices, we can all effect change. It’s just a matter of standing up and talking about what you believe in.”

See more of the CFDA/Lexus Fashion* Initiative sustainability story by following #ReDesignFashion.