Diamond & Jewelry News, Advice and Prices for Consumers
Diamond & Jewelry News, Advice and Prices for Consumers
September 5, 2010
I don't see what the big deal is about buying normal jewelry. Should I care?
September 12, 2010
Yes! You should care! Precious metals and gemstones like diamonds all develop bellow the earth's upper surface, and generally mining has to be done in order to bring them up. Mining is extremely detrimental to the earth's natural ecology...to begin with in many kinds of mining the surface-meaning the natural habitat-has to be removed, and then machines have to be used to go into the ground and people excavate the inside of the earth. I am not an expert, but there are all kinds of unnatural processes that the earth goes through during the mining of different substances. There is waste left behind, pollution, corrosion of the surface, destruction of mountain ranges and plant growth, loss of animal habitat (and thus a change in the ecosystem in which we live) and dirtying of the air. Also, mining is not so great for the miners themselves, and especially if the mining is done outside of the United States it may take advantage of people in developing countries who can be forced to work under less than optimal conditions. Diamonds must also be certified as not being from a conflict region in Africa, where they are gained from the slave-labor of people undergoing civil wars. It is therefor best to buy jewelry that is either made from materials that cause less of a worldwide problem, or made from reused or recycled materials so as to support the reuse and lessening of mining in the world. Also, you can buy diamond jewelry made from diamonds that were formed in a lab...it's still a diamond, but it doesn't support the same kind of non-sustainable production methods that are so familiar to those in the mainstream precious metal and gemstone industry.
September 7, 2010
The great thing about buying sustainable, eco-friendly jewelry is that when you buy and use recycled metals, you are essentially helping to decrease the global demand for newly mined natural resources, such as gold, and preventing the socially and environmentally destructive effects of mining practices. Buying recycled metals is one of the most ecologically and socially responsible choices that you can make as a consumer.
