An estimated 3.7 million people have died in wars funded by diamonds. Millions more around the world are being poisoned by mercury from gold mining, destroying the environment just so they can scrape by to survive in their destitute lives. All this is in the name of luxury products and love symbols. Yet, the hot trend is for mainstream jewelers to brand themselves as “ethical” and “responsible.” The Ethical Jewelry Exposé reveals the origins of the “responsible jewelry” or “ethical jewelry” narratives by disentangling a complex web of interconnected relationships. Executive summary continued...
The author recounts what he considers the birth of the North American responsible/ethical jewelry movement in 2006 and the trade’s response, his insider status, and offers a broad outline of ethical jewelry issues. Read
Concrete action items that can seed a campaign for broad market disruption, opening the way for an ethical jewelry movement in North America based entirely on sourcing from small-scale producer communities. Read
Suggestions on how to approach reading this work. Read
A story about mining and jewelry sourcing that serves as a central parable for the Exposé, followed by an introduction to the plight of the small-scale artisan miner and a definition of responsible/ethical jewelry. Read
Learn how the Responsible Jewellery Council introduces their "Responsible Gold Standard" for large-scale mining by shielding themselves behind a small-scale mining effort which is an infinitesimal part of the supply chain. Read
A fair trade diamond represents a massive threat to the diamond sector. Responsible Jewellery Council member De Beers joined efforts with the Diamond Development Initiative to ensure the Death of the Fair Trade Diamond. Read
The Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (Kimberley Process) and the origin of the conflict free narrative, how De Beers made conflict diamonds a virtue, the Responsible Jewellery Council’s endorsement of Zimbabwe diamonds undermining the Kimberley Process ethical veracity, and how Non-governmental watchdog groups lost the Faustian bargain by partnering with diamond sector. Read
How the notion of a “conflict free diamond” is finessed by ethical jewelers to create a new diamond story, reinforcing Kimberley Process narrative while denouncing the process itself. Read
Brilliant Earth Reviews: a deep dive into the company that has defined ethical jewelry sourcing in North America, covering their marketing and sourcing of gold, diamonds, claims to sell "fair trade" and Fairmined gold, and their endorsement of the Responsible Jewellery Council. Read
Only Fairtrade Gold Jeweler in the USA since 2015
Santa Fe, NM Green Business of the Year
Catalyzing the Ethical Jewelry Movement
Winner of MJSA Responsibly Sourced Design Challenge
Founder of First-Ever Ethical Jewelry Blog
Collaborators of USAID Zahabu Safi (Clean Gold) Project
