What is Ethical Jewelry?

To understand what ethical jewelry is, you first need to examine what is meant by ‘unethically produced’ jewelry: the aspects of the diamond and gold manufacturing process that are dishonest or immoral. Using diamonds and gold as examples, it’s easy to uncover the main issues around unethical jewelry.

Conflict stones
These are stones that are originally mined in conflict or war zones, and which are then sold to finance an army’s war efforts  or a warlord’s activity, usually in Africa. During the 1990s, hundreds of thousands of people were killed in African wars fueled by diamonds. Although much less of a problem than it once was due to the Kimberley Process, conflict diamonds from Zimbabwe and Cote d’Ivoire still do enter the market.

Environmentally unfriendly production

Mining for stones and gold is often devastating to the environment. Cyanide used in leaching gold and waste byproducts of mining, such as mercury, cause water and air pollution which have devastating health and environmental impacts. Although one could argue that most aspects of diamond mining are environmentally damaging, some mines have far less impact than others.

Socially irresponsible  processes
Many diamonds, even those that are considered conflict-free, are cut and polished in sweatshop conditions, often by children, for very low wages. India is the world’s largest centre for cutting and polishing of diamonds for the global market and in this city alone, there are 500,000 workers.

India spends $10 per carat on the polishing and cutting of diamonds compared to China’s $17, South Africa’s $40 to $60 and $150 in Belgium. Increased demand for diamonds in China (the country is now the world’s second biggest consumer after the US), means that its share of the global diamond processing industry will reach 21% by 2015, and that India’s will drop from 57% to 49%, according to a recent report by KPMG India.

In 1997, the International Labour Organization published a report titled Child Labour in the Diamond Industry. It claimed that child labour is rife in the Indian diamond industry: close to 3% overall and 25% in Surat, India.

Changing times
The awareness of all these issues is slowly changing: many people now know that unless you know exactly where a diamond or piece of gold came from, you cannot know for certain that it was ethically produced. Many jewelers will say that they can trace the provenance of a piece of jewelry, but, in reality that isn’t the case. A potential customer wanting an ethically sourced piece of jewelry needs to demand transparency and should ask the following:

Where did this diamond or gold come from?
Canada is the only country in the world to operate a system to monitor and track diamonds from the mine. Buy a Canadian diamond or a synthetic stone. Environmental protection laws are stringent, and make sure that effective systems are in place to protect local wildlife and that the land be restored once mining has ceased.

The Ekati and Diavik diamond mines in Canada’s Northwest Territory (NWT) are two of the most ground-breaking mining operations in the world. According to The World Diamond Council, the Diavik mine entered into an Environmental Agreement which was developed with local Aboriginal groups and governments to protect the environment, establish reclamation requirements and provide transparency. The Energy Smart Program at the Ekati mine works towards reducing the environmental impact of the site. When it comes to gold, it is now possible to buy fair-trade and fair-mined gold as well as recycled gold.

Who was involved in its manufacture?
Can your jeweler tell you if the gold is fairly traded and mined, or that the diamond wasn’t cut in a sweatshop in India? Fair trade diamonds are not yet available, so the only safe alternative is to find a jeweler who can assure you  of the provenance.

This article was written by Ingle & Rhode – London based merchants of ethically sourced jewelry with a range of unique designs; including periodical pieces, such as Edwardian and art deco engagement rings.

What is Ethical Jewelry? is a post from: Modern Hippie Mag

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