What Exactly Is Ethical Jewelry
By Marc Choyt
For most jewelers today, simply providing accurate information and a fair price for a diamond, wedding ring or engagement ring constitutes ethics. Yet today, in what some call the emerging ethical jewelry space, jewelers who are change agents view an ethical wedding ring or ethical engagement ring through an entirely different set of criteria. Ethics, to them, means traceable through the supply chain from mine to market. Throughout the process, the environment and producer communities are treated responsibly.
Yet even in the context of mine to market sourcing, subjectivity still rules. Most people in the jewelry sector would consider a diamond sourced from a De Beers mine as totally ethical. DeBeers has implemented some of the best practices for a large scale diamond company that are possible. Yet for others, particularly customers who might call themselves “progressives,” the historical context of that company makes their diamonds an unethical choice.
The same issue is true in regard to the environmental impact of Canadian diamonds, which are branded as the “conflict free” option, given the history of diamonds in Africa. Some would say purchasing Canadian is ethical while others say that it is better to source from Africa, which needs the diamond business.
Perfection should not be the enemy of the good. We live in a world with more grays than blacks and whites. Yet the common basis of this new view of ethics in the jewelry sector is transparency and accountability through the supply chain. Since ethics are highly subjective, transparency allows customers to determine what is ethical for him or her self.
The Current Market
Within the jewelery sector, the importance of sourcing responsibly has gained traction, particularly in those segments of the supply chain which have been impacted by Blood Diamonds and Dirty Gold. Consumers are more aware. Market demand is there, but it is still a niche. Only those who have a solid e-commerce platform or live in an area with a certain demographic have been able to take advantage of this new ethical jewelry view.
In the US, mainstream independent jewelers have been slow to notice this movement toward greater ethics, even though it has been featured widely in trade magazines. Jewelers are looking for hot trends that can make them money, not socially responsible initiatives. Many are concerned that if they segment off a part of their product offering as ethical, a customer may ask, what about the other goods in this case? Is this an ethical engagement ring and ethical wedding ring made with recycled metals or not?
In the US, about 15 to 20% of the people purchase organic foods and buy from companies such as Patagonia. These “cultural creatives” shop their values. Many would never walk into a mainstream jewelery store, but they would consider purchasing from a company that has a progressive, green stance.
Within the current market, probably bridal jewelry has the most potential given the immense emotional significance of wedding rings. Ethical wedding rings and ethical engagement rings also can be marketed as boutique items with high end gemstones. Mine to market gemstones and precious metals often demand a premium in price.
Implications
Whether the jewelry supply chain can ever be considered 100% ethical is a question of where one stands. It is a question of gradients. Will their ever be ethical oil? How about ethical steel? Yet our society depends upon a wide range of resources that we consume without much attention to their true costs. Jewelry depends upon extraction of minerals that are highly commoditized.
Up until quite recently, the marketing of jewelry has focused on the emotional and romantic while ignoring sourcing issues. This view is really quite out of date with our current times, where any responsible person realizes that we are all part of one global community that is interdependent. Many other industries are focusing on ethical issues simply because they realize that to not do so leaves them vulnerable to attack.
Some may argue that jewelry is different from other commodities because it is not a necessity. However, human beings have been adorning themselves for eighty thousand years. Jewelry is a fundamental repository of culture and art.
We are perhaps analogous to what fair trade coffee was in the seventies, though I think that the movement forward is going to be much quicker. Some day, I believe, it will be completely the norm for people, particularly those in the EU and North American market, to purchase jewelry that is ethically sourced.
If jewelry is going to ever move toward more transparent, mine to market sourcing, it will be market driven. Public education is a critical part of this entire process because this whole movement will not gain momentum until the market drives it forward.
About The Author
Marc Choyt is President of Reflective Images, a designer jewelry company, http://www.celticjewelry.com selling conflict free diamonds and unique wedding rings at: http://www.artisanweddingrings.com. Marc authors http://www.fairjewelry.org, a website covering fair trade gem and jewelry issues.