While jewelry makes a great gift for all occasions it’s not always the benign, love-filled gift we expect it to be.

While many of us like wearing jewelry and expensive stones we’re beginning to realize the ways these stones are mined may reflect too high a price in human treatment. And this worries us.

Jewelry, especially diamonds, are often linked to conflict. This is because the price of weapons and wars are often paid with diamonds. Diamonds exchanged for guns ultimately cost lives and limbs. Obviously, a stone or piece of jewelry worn with such an origin is tainted, which is not a pleasing thought in the least. In fact, the term ‘blood diamond’ applies to stones used in these types of exchanges.

Fortunately there are now companies hard at work identifying jewelry for customers that is conflict-free, ethical and sourced without any blood being shed.

Green Jewelry

For instance, Brilliant Earth. The company goes way beyond the ‘conflict-free’ clause. It ensures the stones cause minimum environmental impact, are not mined or handled in any way that violates human rights, and that the labor practices used by the company are conscientious and accountable. The diamonds are sourced from mines that follow the highest standards across parameters. What’s more, the company also offers both recycled diamonds as well as those created in a lab.

This care is extended to metals as well. Brilliant Earth uses recycled gold. When it comes to sourcing gold or metal for that matter, the conditions in which people work is not only terrible but difficult, even dangerous as well. What’s more, mines have a hugely detrimental effect on the environment, from water pollution to other serious consequences, including cyanide spills and mercury pollution.

Is there a way to reduce the repetition of the process? Or the demand for this precious metal? There is – recycled or re-refined metal. The metals – platinum, gold, palladium and silver – are brought back to their purest form, making them of the same superior quality one associates with new metals. These metals are sourced form not only jewelry, but also electronics, and industrial metals. The company uses independent verification to testify to its efforts. What’s more, it donates 5% of profits for the development of regions where the mines are situated. That’s a noteworthy effort indeed.

Green jewelry ensures that child labor, and danger to indigenous tribes in the area is slowly eradicated. Improving the standard of living of workers, ensuring communities get a head start in terms of education and better health care, caring for and protecting the environment and putting human rights first – these are all the many vital reasons why green jewelry or ecofriendly jewelry is a must. If every jewelry lover decided to be careful about where they got their precious pieces from, the world can move forward to a more careful and caring environment.

Shift Frequency © 2018 – What’s the buzz about ‘green jewelry’ all about