Turning Tech into Treasure...With Nikki Reed

Luminaries - Talking to the Brightest Minds in Tech

What You'll Hear In This Episode

• Inspiration behind her environmentally sustainable company, BaYou
  with Love
• How her jewelry line of rings, earrings and cufflinks are
  all comprised of upcycled gold from old computer motherboards
• What drives her passion for sustainability and conservation
• How technology can mitigate some of the challenges of owning a small business

Precious Metals Can Be Uncovered In the Most Unlikely of Places — Like Your Computer's Motherboard

Technology is helping us to realize a more sustainable future but not always in the most traditional of ways...like recycling your disposable computer parts to make jewelry. With an estimated $60 million in gold and silver discarded by Americans through unwanted tech every year, actress-turned-entrepreneur Nikki Reed saw an opportunity to use technology to promote sustainability. BaYou with Love, a joint venture between Nikki and Freedom of Animals founder Morgan Bogle, uses gold recovered from old computer motherboards and upcycles it to create “The Circular Collection”, a jewelry range of 14- and 18- carat gold rings, earrings and cufflinks, highlighting how people can rethink recycling.

In this episode, Nikki discusses what drives her passion for environmentalism, conservation and women's issues, including the realities of owning a small business that also holds true to those ideals.