Redyoos Featured on GeekWire: How Your Pre-Loved Jewelry is Powering the Next Wave of Tech

When leaders, founders, and venture capitalists gathered at the Picklewood Paddle Club for the Madrona-hosted kickoff of Seattle Tech Week, local tech news outlet GeekWire went room to room with one central question:

"What are you building?"

Out of hundreds of companies presenting across the Pacific Northwest’s vibrant innovation scene, our founder, Cleo Escarez, took the mic to share the Redyoos mission—and caught GeekWire’s attention in the process.

We aren't just building software or another digital tool; we are building an urban mining movement that bridges the gap between pre-loved jewelry sitting in jewelry boxes and the massive mineral demand of tomorrow's technology.

Here is a look behind the scenes at our feature, why our work matters right now, and how your unworn jewelry is playing a direct role in the clean tech revolution.

The Big Challenge: A 700% Mineral Shortfall

While conversations around artificial intelligence, data centers, electric vehicles, and clean energy usually focus on software and computing power, the physical tech world faces a massive reality check: a severe shortage of critical metals.

As Cleo highlighted during her GeekWire interview:

• The Jewelry Reserve: The global jewelry industry holds 40% to 50% of the world’s precious metals.

• Essential for Modern Hardware: Gold, silver, platinum, and copper are the exact conductors required inside microchips, solar panels, cell phones, and EV batteries.

• The Looming Deficit: As clean tech and AI demand rapidly scale, world reserves face an estimated 700% supply shortfall of critical minerals in the coming decades.

As Cleo put it at the event: "We mathematically cannot solve this deficit" through traditional mining alone.

How Redyoos Is Building the Solution

Mining new raw minerals from the earth comes with heavy environmental costs, massive carbon footprints, and slow output. Redyoos approaches the problem from a circular angle: urban mining.

Instead of digging deeper into the earth, we unlock the high-value potential sitting inside drawers, closets, and jewelry boxes everywhere.

1. Fine Precious Metals: High-grade metals like gold and silver are recovered, refined, and directed toward renewable energy infrastructure, solar technology, and electronics.

2. Fashion & Non-Meltable Jewelry: Unworn costume and fashion pieces that can't be melted are diverted to non-profit social partners—like Dress for Success—giving them new life while keeping waste out of landfills.

3. Massive Environmental Savings: Recycling existing gold reduces carbon emissions by up to 99% compared to primary mining.

What Seattle Tech Week Showed Us

Seattle Tech Week brings together tens of thousands of innovators pushing the boundaries of what is possible. But as software advances rapidly, the physical hardware powering it must become more sustainable.

Being featured by GeekWire validates what our community already knows: small personal actions create massive collective impact. By viewing pre-loved jewelry as an untapped secondary supply of critical materials, Redyoos is making circular technology simple, accessible, and meaningful for everyone.

Ready to Be Part of the Change?

You don't need to be a hardware engineer or a tech CEO to power the green transition. Every broken chain, single earring, or unworn ring in your jewelry box has the power to keep waste out of landfills and supply raw materials for a sustainable future.

• Order Your Free Redyoos Kit: Request a free mail-in bag directly from our home page.

• Fill It Up: Send in any jewelry—fine metal or fashion, in any condition.

• Track the Impact: Know that your clutter is directly supporting social programs and powering green technology.

Order Your Free Redyoos Kit Today →

Photo Credit: GeekWire.  Top row from left: Emily Rapp, Henry Arias, Cleo Escarez, and Jagan Nemani. Bottom row from left: Kim Vu, Andy Liu, Mary Jesse, and Kenny Daniel, at the Seattle Tech Week kickoff. (GeekWire Photos / Todd Bishop)