Silver bullet: Jewellery brand takes guns off the streets

New York – Peter Thum is an entrepreneur with a mission. Before he launched his jewellery line Liberty United, he found Ethos Water, a bottled water company that donates a proportion of its income to clean water projects in parts of Africa. He then founded Fonderie 47, which transforms assault rifles from Africa into high-end jewellery. Now, he is applying the same template to address gun violence at home.

Like Fonderie 47, Liberty United takes illegal guns and bullets, smelts them down and uses the metal to create new pieces of jewellery. Each piece is stamped with the serial number of the gun used to make it, creating one-of-a-kind pieces. Proceeds from the sales help to fund gun violence-reduction projects, including community education programmes, gun collection schemes and initiatives that help victims of gun violence.

Liberty United is similar to the coffee bar in the new TOMS store, which LS:N Global recently featured as an Innovate. But instead of buying to give, this is buying to remove – to get guns off the streets, and to contribute to a safer America.