ABOUT US

Pretty Pink Jewellery began in 2005, when founder Ilana Ewing brought the vibrant beauty of Brazil to Edinburgh with artistically crafted jewellery made from ethically sourced materials. Rooted in her passion for colour, texture, and sustainability, Ilana designs each piece with respect, creativity, and conscientious care.

Our Ethos

We believe in jewellery that does more than look beautiful—it supports our planet and uplifts communities. We work with naturally sustainable materials like Tagua (also known as Vegetable Ivory) and acai seeds, harvested in ways that protect the Amazon rainforest and generate employment in South America. From local cooperatives where seeds are cleaned, dyed, and prepared, to thoughtful, handmade production here in Scotland and in South America, every step supports ethical craftsmanship and fair trade.

Designed in Scotland

Each piece is lovingly designed in Edinburgh, bringing together artistry and sustainability. Our work is more than jewellery—it’s a celebration of mindful design and global responsibility.

Your Purchase Makes a Difference

Your support helps create real impact—from preserving the rainforest to supporting artisans and their families across South America

Ilana Ewing

Meet the People who Harvest and Prepare the Vegetable Ivory

These are the workers who prepare the seeds used to make our beautiful jewellery. They polish them, dye them and drill the holes. Many of them are single mothers. And now, like so many people around the world, they cannot leave their homes and it is becoming increasingly difficult to provide for their families.

Thank you for supporting our movement for ethical, sustainable jewellery. Together, we can take care of our planet — and our people.

Our Team's Visit to a Colombian Rainforest

Sustainable and Ethically Sourced Materials

Have you Heard of Vegetable Ivory or Tagua Nut?

The colourful and unique designs of Pretty Pink Eco-Jewellery come from a material that is neither a vegetable nor ivory, but you wouldn't know it by its name. Vegetable Ivory, or Tagua, is the dried seed from a large, fruited palm tree that is native to Brazil and the tropical rainforests of South America.

It can take forty years for these trees to produce their fruit, making the seeds inside them all the more precious. Each fruit contains between four and nine seeds ranging from the size of an olive to an avocado. The seed's cavity contains a refreshing liquid that, if harvested within six months, turns to a sweet, edible liquid. If left, however, this jelly turns into a hard, white substance similar to that of elephant tusks or animal teeth.

Precious as these seeds are, at Pretty Pink Eco-Jewellery, our ecosystem comes first. That's why the first crop of fruit is left for the "curicas", the birds of the Amazon rainforest. Only after two years is the fruit collected by hand from the forest floor.

Once collected, the seeds are removed from their husks and left to dry in the sun for about three months. Only then is Vegetable Ivory hard enough to be carved, sliced and drilled - much like real ivory - and capable of holding the colourful dyes that make our jewellery so unique. Unlike real ivory, however, Vegetable Ivory is a renewable resource that does not harm our animals or our planet when harvested.

How Vegetable Ivory Saves the Rainforest from Palm Oil Developers

At Pretty Pink Eco-Jewellery, we believe in taking care of our planet and our people. Recent research from Brazil found that the cultivation and harvesting of Vegetable Ivory within the Greater Amazonia region prevents loggers from chopping down trees to plant soya for biofuels - and keeps some 35,000 people gainfully employed.

In addition to Vegetable Ivory, we also source Açai seeds. Everything is used from the Açai trees - from its leaves, which are also where we find seeds that are used to make some of our pieces. Much like Vegetable Ivory, these seeds are sourced in a way that is good for our planet and good for our people.