The story of Rainforest Native is the story of love—love among a young family; love of the indigenous peoples of the Amazon; love of the rainforest environment; and the love of making beautiful jewelry gifts while protecting the rainforest and the people who have so long depended upon it. The love is strong enough to include the person who chooses such an eco-gift and the lucky one who receives it..

The Beginning

In 2002, Christian Tyler ventured from his native USA down to the Amazon rainforest of Brazil. There he discovered a love for the rainforest, its people and its cultural traditions. He also found another love in Sao Paolo, when he met Erika, a young Brazilian.

Christian and Erika were married and living happily on the sunny island city of Florianopolis with their newborn daughter, Jasmim, when they started exploring ways to help the people of the forest they had come to know and love. Drawing upon Christian’s business skills and Erika’s knowledge of jewelry design, quality and craftsmanship, the couple created plans to offer sustainable employment to talented indigenous artisans while at the same time promoting important rainforest environmental preservation.

In 2005, the couple moved to the USA to work on design ideas and conduct test marketing. The rest is history. Today, Rainforest Native is a successful and compassionate business based in San Diego.

The Heart

Every Rainforest Native eco-jewelry piece embodies the tranquility and beauty of its Amazon rainforest origins, as well as the love and care that Christian and Erika bring to the whole process, from initial gathering to delivery. Christian and Erika pride themselves on empowering indigenous peoples through fair trade while at the same time preserving the rainforest. All of their jewelry is made by well-paid artisans in Para (the northeastern Brazilian state at the mouth of the Amazon River) under generous working conditions. Indeed, Rainforest Native is a proud member of the Fair Trade Federation and Co-op America.

In addition to honoring fair trade conditions, Christian and Erika have created distinctive eco-jewelry pieces based on ancient masterpieces with an updated design aesthetic. Each lovely piece is meticulously handcrafted from natural forest materials collected by coops of indigenous peoples who have used the same botanicals as adornment for time immemorial. Christian and Erika work closely with these coops to assure their raw materials are organic and harvested with environmentally sustainable methods.

The Highlights

Christian and Erika believe passionately that a necklace, a bracelet or earrings made of all-natural rainforest materials “adorn its wearer with an unmistakable glow” enhanced by the comfort that it “both comes from the rainforest and helps protect it at the same time.” We agree! They also have such a strong commitment to protecting the environment and promoting ecological awareness that Rainforest Native donates a portion of every purchase to charities dedicated to conservation and reforestation, predominantly CEFLURIS IDA Amazon Rainforest and the Rainforest Alliance.

We commend Christian and Erika for their passion, drive, attention-to-detail, gorgeous eco-jewelry designs and commitment to social and environmental responsibility. We’re delighted to offer our customers the opportunity to own some of Rainforest Native’s premium jewelry pieces.

Gifts with style and relevance from a socially responsible small business . . .