Ringing in a new era of ethically and ecologically responsible jewelry
Did you know 30 tons of waste rock can be generated in producing one gold ring? Us neither, but now we're never getting married. Trying to keep a step ahead of consumers' growing social and environmental consciousness, the jewelry industry is making some changes. Some specialty outfits are marketing so-called ethical jewelry, or creating baubles out of recycled gold. Eight mainstream jewelry companies, representing 14 percent of U.S. retail jewelry sales, have signed on to an enviro-sponsored "No Dirty Gold" campaign, which has minimal requirements but aims to eventually clean up the environmentally damaging and sometimes ethically dodgy gold-mining industry. Tiffany & Co. buys much of its gold from a cyanide-free mine; other companies are buying direct from suppliers, allowing them to keep a closer eye on the supply chain. This practice was pioneered by the nation's biggest gold retailer: Wal-Mart, which, when you think about it, is pretty much synonymous with romance.
straight to the source: The New York Times, Kirk Johnson, 06 Apr 2006
see also, in Grist: Umbra on wedding rings
Obama headed to Copenhagen, sets the bar for success
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Comments
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lorayoh Posted 10:09 pm
10 Apr 2007
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Circlemanifesto Posted 3:17 am
18 Jun 2007
I just wanted to let you know that there is a small but passionate movement in the mainstream jewelry industry toward fair and ethically sourced production. I just launched a blog on this subject, http://www.fairjewelry.org and the second week it launched it got top google rankings and 8000 visitors.
Those of us involved in this early movement are very dedicated and sincere. I am a jewelry manufacturer myself and a leader in this movement, which is supported by this website. On the site I also list many companies who are actually making a strong effort to move in a direction that we can support.
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