I was at my local mall the other day searching for some jewelry to buy as a gift when I saw a sign reading “Green Jewelry Sold Here.” This got me thinking (always a dangerous pursuit, I know). Just what is the deal with “green” jewelry? I am assuming they are not referring to the jewelry’s color, but other than that I don’t quite know what they are getting at. Does green jewelry mean free trade? Conflict free? Environmentally friendly? Good for people and planet? Heck, I wondered, is it even possible for jewelry to be green at all?
I’ve long been aware of the social ramifications of jewelry, specifically the economic and sometimes physical injustice visited upon people who live in places where jewels and precious metals are mined. Public knowledge of these problems has been growing for some time, and I feel like the aptly named 2006 film "Blood Diamond" starring Leo Dicaprio really helped push awareness of these issues to the forefront of people’s minds here in America. Additionally, the fair trade movement, using the principals of paying fair wages to miners and artisans all around the world, has made lasting changes in the lives of many people who live in areas where gold, silver and jewels are mined. Yet I couldn’t help but wonder – is that what it means for something to be green?
The green movement to this day has no one defining characteristic, and no one person with the ability to say what is green and what isn’t. And I certainly think it is a great thing that people are becoming aware of social injustice around the world and that there are certifications we can look to in order to verify that we as consumers are not part of that cycle of injustice. But does that make a given product green?
The very use of the word “green” also got me to thinking about something that had never really occurred to me before – the environmental ramifications of jewelry. Is there any form of mining that is greener than any other? Are there certain jewels or precious metals in particular that require more energy to mine? Do some require more toxic chemicals in their processing? And at the end of the day, does any of this make one jewel or metal greener than another?
That day I left the store with a beautiful fair trade bracelet (the conflict free diamonds were a bit rich for my blood) but no answer to my questions about green jewelry. And while I don’t think a definitive answer will be forthcoming anytime soon, I was hoping that some other SustainLane members had some thoughts on the subject. So everyone: what do you say?
Read more on SustainLane about green jewelry:
Interview with Brilliant Earth: Ethically-Mined Diamonds are a Woman's Best Friend
How to Make a Recycled Credit Card Bracelet
Zoey L. says:
Hey Green Dude -- good question. I wonder if the environmental message is at all undermined when we conflate social justice issues with environmental issues. Not that I don't think these issues are/become one and the same, but I fear that when messages become more complex, people tune out. This is why, I think, George Bush was able to retain his opinion poll ratings for quite some time -- his message was persistently simple, clear, bite-sized. You didn't have to think too hard to get it. I wish "green jewelry" then, had a simpler definition/explanation. But I think when we talk about green jewelry, we're talking about a lot of things: were workers who mined the metals and cut/assembled the jewelry paid living wages; were the designers paid living wages; was the jewelry -- from mine to my finger or ring, ear or belly button -- produced and manufactured in an environmentally-friendly way. How much non-renewable energy did it take to create and distribute? And so forth. . .
Charane S. says:
I found that "Blood Diamond" was an exceptionally moving movie & it made me question the diamonds in my own wedding ring. I still have my wedding ring but I do question the origin of diamonds before purchasing. But is there really a guarantee?
As conscience buyers we need to get more specifics. For example, I heard of a jewelry company in Southern California that made fine jewelry strictly from recycled gold. I would consider their jewelry to be green because it is made from a metal that is in circulation rather than from recent mining. Of course, who ever heard of gold filling up the landfills???