Responsible Jewellery Council .19 May 2025 20 Stories of Impact Marisa Hordern, Missoma

Marisa Hordern, Founder & Creative Director of Missoma

Collecting gems as a young girl, it wasn’t until a kitchen table chat with her mother and sister that Marisa Hordern felt compelled to quit the corporate world and follow her passion by starting jewellery brand Missoma.

One of the first to harness the power of social media, Hordern also pioneered the first influencer-jewellery collaboration. Hordern continues to nurture a culture of creativity, confidence, and collaboration.

Founded in 2007, Missoma now ships worldwide. The jewellery brand was ranked fourth and sixth fastest-growing UK SME in the Sunday Times’ Fast Track 100 2018 and 2019 respectively.

Hordern won the Entrepreneur Award at the 2019 Barclaycard Everywoman in Retail Awards for her future-facing leadership, with Missoma also ranked no.25 in JP Morgan’s 2022 Top 200 Female Powered Businesses category. Missoma was honoured to be awarded a 2022 Queen’s Award for Enterprise in International Trade having grown it’s International sales to 55% of its business.

What motivated Missoma to become a member of the Responsible Jewellery Council, and how does this align with your overall commitment to sustainability and ethical business practices?

At Missoma, responsible production is at the heart of everything we do. That’s why we became members of the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), ensuring we meet the highest ethical, social, and environmental standards. 

All of our partner suppliers are RJC-certified, and we hold ourselves to the same rigorous standards. This means ensuring traceability, responsible sourcing, fair working conditions, and reducing our environmental impact across the entire supply chain. It’s about doing the right thing, not just for today but for the future of the industry. 

We know that sustainability is a journey, not a destination. By committing to RJC certification, we’re holding ourselves accountable and continuously raising the bar. Jewellery should never come at the cost of people or the planet. 

In what ways has Missoma’s partnership with the RJC influenced your approach to transparency, ethical sourcing, and social responsibility within the jewellery industry?

Transparency is non-negotiable. Our partnership with the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) helps us ensure we only work with suppliers who share our commitment to ethical sourcing and responsible business practices. The RJC Code of Practice acts as our benchmark, covering everything from fair wages and working conditions to environmental impact and responsible mining. 

This commitment extends to every part of our supply chain: 

• We only work with RJC-certified suppliers, ensuring our jewellery is made with integrity, care, and accountability. 
• We use 100% recycled gold, silver, and brass, ensuring full traceability and certification. 
• We’re rolling out Digital Product Passports, offering complete transparency on where every part of your jewellery comes from – down to the metal, gemstones, and the factory where it was crafted. 

By prioritising ethical sourcing and full transparency, we’re helping to push the jewellery industry forward, ensuring that responsibility is woven into every step of the process. 

Can you share any key milestones or initiatives that Missoma has implemented to ensure responsible business practices and sustainability in your operations?

We’re proud of the steps we’ve taken to create a more sustainable future for jewellery, and we’re always looking for ways to innovate.

Some of our biggest milestones include: 

• Our partnership with Central Saint Martins – We’ve collaborated on a project to upcycle deadstock materials, giving new life to materials that would otherwise go to waste. 
• Industry-leading real-time carbon tracking with Vaayu – We’ve partnered with Vaayu, a pioneering carbon-tracking platform, to measure and reduce our emissions in real time. 
• Digital Product Passports – In collaboration with Vaayu, we’re rolling out product passports to give customers full transparency into every element of their jewellery, from materials to sourcing. 
• Switching to renewable energy – All our sites now run on renewable energy, significantly reducing our carbon footprint. 
• Sustainable packaging – We’ve transitioned to 100% recyclable packaging and biodegradable factory inbound packaging. 

Sustainability is a constant process of improvement, and we’re committed to doing better every year. Whether it’s reducing our environmental footprint, improving traceability, or pushing for industry-wide change, we believe responsible jewellery is the future.   

How does Missoma maintain the balance between creating trend-driven, accessible jewellery while adhering to the increasing demand for environmental responsibility and ethical sourcing?

We’ve never designed based on trends. We believe in creating pieces we love, and often, that ends up driving trends rather than following them. 

We’re also embracing a ‘less is more’ approach, producing fewer but more thoughtful designs. While it takes time to implement – our development cycle is around 12 months – you’ll start seeing this shift in the coming year. In fact, we’re developing about half of what we did last year, focusing on timeless, high-quality jewellery meant to be worn every day, for years to come. 

Sustainability has always been core to Missoma, and it’s just as important to our suppliers. All our partner factories are members of the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), as are we. We hold ourselves to the same high standards, ensuring ethical sourcing and responsible production across the board. 

Some key initiatives include: 

• 100% recycled metals – We’ve certified our gold, silver, and brass to guarantee full traceability. It’s not enough to just claim recycled,’ they need to be certified recycled and ensure every step of the supply chain is verified. 
• Recyclable packaging – A few years ago, we switched to 100% recyclable packaging, and we continue refining our processes. Even our factories’ inbound packaging is biodegradable. 
• Sustainable factory practices – Many of our suppliers are making incredible progress, incorporating solar panels, recycled water systems, and energy-efficient processes. 

Beyond materials, ethical production is equally important. We prioritise:  

• Fair wages & working conditions – All workers are paid a living wage, with overtime protection. 
• Workplace wellbeing – Some factories offer on-site childcare, subsidised meals, and loan facilities to protect workers from exploitative lending –especially in regions where this is a concern, such as Thailand. When we visit, we eat in the canteens ourselves, and the food is always amazing! 
• Regular oversight – We don’t just rely on audits; we have Missoma team members on the ground daily, ensuring that ethical and quality standards are met. 

Looking towards the future, what role do you envision Missoma playing in shaping a more sustainable and ethically responsible jewellery industry?

There are still areas for improvement. For example, pearls and gemstones remain a challenge in terms of full supply chain traceability. The pearl industry is still catching up, but we’re committed to pushing for more transparency. One major step we’ve taken is introducing Product Passports. These track every single component of a piece, from the metal and gemstones to the factory where it was made. It’s all about providing customers with full confidence in their jewellery, knowing exactly where it comes from and how it was made. Sustainability isn’t about competing with other brands, it’s about collective progress. Whether it’s jewellery, fashion, or aviation, true change happens industry by industry. That’s why organisations like the Responsible Jewellery Council are so vital. They unite brands and suppliers to drive long-term improvements, and after 20 years of incredible work, there’s still much to do. But we’re in this together. Step by step, we’ll keep pushing forward.