Whole Life Times: Dirty Pretty Things

February 2008 | Features

Dirty Pretty Things

As grammie used to say, you can’t polish a turd. This V-Day, keep your karma clean with ethically-sourced eco-adornments

By Jessica Ridenour

If we’re to believe what the advertising industry tells us, there’s no better way to express love and devotion than by adorning our valentines with some shiny new bling. But by now, we’ve all seen Leo in Blood Diamond, and we’re aware these splashy sparklers come with high cost — usually at the expense of the local communities where the gems or precious metals are mined. Fortunately, thanks to awareness campaigns and growing consumer demand, retailers are taking notice. More and more jewelers, artists and metalsmiths are creating ethically sourced eco-adornments — gilt, without the guilt, if you will.

It is almost unfathomable that the production of one gold ring leaves 20 tons of mine-waste in its wake; gold and silver mining destroys natural habitat and pollutes waterways with mercury and cyanide (used to leach metal from rock), not to mention the public health and human rights issues that are often a part of mining in developing nations. Now, thanks to groups like Ethical Metalsmiths (ethicalmetalsmiths.org), the $60 billion jewelry industry is starting to be held accountable for how it sources raw materials.

“There’s a lot of promise right now,” says artist Jennifer Horning, who, frustrated by her own inability to trace metals back to their origin, co-founded Ethical Metalsmiths, an organization committed to sourcing and labeling metals and gemstones using international standards. She’s heartened that consumers, suppliers and jewelers alike are now paying more attention to the moral concerns involved with material sourcing and are demanding a traceable supply chain.

Horning, an environmental attorney by day, is working with other organizations to establish a fair trade certification process — like that of coffee — for gold and diamonds. A government and industry initiative aiming to stem the flow of conflict diamonds, called the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme, was established in 2003 to certify that rough diamonds are not used to fund civil war in the most volatile corners of Africa, but industry watchdogs say weaknesses in the process are undermining its effectiveness.

“[There is] no question the Kimberley Process has been effective at curbing the fueling of civil wars that are funded through diamond sales, but it’s very narrowly defined,” says Horning, explaining that the initiative only applies to areas engaged in full-scale civil war and doesn’t include provisions for small-scale ethnic violence or human rights violations and other issues of ground production. “Fair trade would be an amazing vehicle to return a greater percentage of diamond sales back to the communities that produce them.”

Canadian diamonds have emerged as a blood-free alternative to African conflict diamonds, although there is debate about the effects on the environment there as well. According to miningwatch.ca, diamond mines upset the fragile ecosystems of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut and disrupt the regional economies of aboriginal people living there.

Other precious gems face their own criticisms. Ruby trading, for example, is currently supporting the oppressive military regime plaguing Burma. Artisanal gemstone mining (including crystals) may be a lesser evil, but can still result in siltation and sedimentation of waterways, deforestation and health and safety issues, depending on the mine. Considering the spiritual significance of crystals to the New Age community, it would be ironic if certain stones prized for their vibrations came complete with the bad karma of a corrupt mining industry.

Better alternatives may be man-made diamonds, which are chemically and physically identical to the real deal but formed in a matter of days as opposed to millions of years. A superior choice yet is to buy vintage or repurposed, or rework an outdated piece of jewelry into something meaningful and wearable.

“There is enough gold above ground, already mined, to satisfy all demands of the jewelry industry for the next 50 years,” asserts Matt White, founder and president of Texas-based greenKarat. Precious metal mining could be reduced or eliminated altogether if more people simply took their unused, broken or out-of-style pieces into the jeweler to be remade. Because precious metal is valuable and rarely wasted, most jewelry already contains some recycled matter, but only a few manufacturers use 100 percent post-consumer recycled content. “I think you will start to see consumers demanding labeling on their jewelry which will help them differentiate [between recycled metal and new metal],” speculates White.

One easy way to make sure your baubles are as karmicly-clean as possible is by asking jewelers where their materials come from and letting them know these issues are important to you. “Jewelry is very much a symbol in society, so what we wear also announces what we are,” says White. “Wearing a responsible band on your finger will declare ‘I’m in a committed relationship,’ while also saying ‘and we care about the earth.’”

Even after discovering the virtues of recycling unused jewelry, LA-based writer Jessica Ridenour still can’t part with her grandmother’s dated wedding band.

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