Even the simplest of gold bands involves processes that can span continents, making traceability one of the toughest challenges the jewellery industry is facing in its effort to become more sustainable. When diamonds, gemstones or other metals are added to the mix, it becomes even more difficult to create origin-assured designs. “There is no one-stop shop for an ethical, sustainable piece of jewellery,” explains Dr. Laurent E. Cartier, a lecturer in gemmology at the Institute of Earth Sciences at the University of Lausanne. For that reason, NGOs, industry organisations and jewellery brands are tackling environmental and humanitarian issues on a case-by-case basis – focusing on specific materials, supply chains and meaningful ways to give back to the most affected communities.
Looking for clean gold
Mining for gold, one of the most widely used materials in jewellery, has resulted in the displacement of indigenous communities from gold-rich regions, and the pollution of waterways due to the spillage of chemicals like cyanide and mercury, which are used to separate gold from ore. Now the industry is making an effort to clean up its act by certifying gold that meets international sustainability standards. Arabel Lebrusan, a UK-based independent designer, only uses Fairtrade and Fairmined gold - two separate certifications verified by a third-party audit system, that take working conditions, fair wages, chemical handling, women’s rights and child labour into account, and include a pro-rata premium of up to $4,000 per kilogram. The premium is often absorbed by the brand with no influence on the retail price of the jewellery, and compensates the mine for its efforts to adhere to better standards. “The cost is from 5 percent to 10 percent more than the stock market, but the consumer doesn't pay for it – they should not, it's part of the luxury,” explains Caroline Scheufele, artistic director and co-president of Chopard.
Chopard, which made headlines in March with its pledge to use 100 percent ethical gold by July 2018, will also use gold responsibly and entirely sourced through Chopard’s partnerships with refineries certified by the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), a non-profit organisation that focuses on the business practices of its members, spanning mines, refineries, cutters, traders and retailers. The RJC certification doesn’t guarantee traceability, but the latest version – released at the end of 2018 – will do its due diligence by outlining the steps certified members have to take to avoid exacerbating conflict and violating human rights.
Recycling and repurposing
The first thing that Monique Péan learned when she first started designing jewellery in 2006 was that producing enough gold for a simple wedding band creates at least 20 tons of waste. “It's the equivalent of two and a half fully grown elephants worth of waste going into the water system,” she says. This led the designer to exclusively use recycled gold and platinum. She also donates a minimum 1 percent profit to Charity: Water, a non-profit organization that provides safe drinking water to developing countries.
Péan’s recycling efforts go beyond metal – the diamonds she works with are repurposed, and she travels around the world to source materials that don’t require industrial mining, including fossils from the Arctic Circle, obsidian from Easter Island and pietersite from Namibia. Along the way she collaborates with local artisans and employs students and doctoral researchers to assess the sustainability of the materials without bias.
Man-made diamonds
In line with the growing scepticism regarding the efficacy of the Kimberley Process, more designers are turning to man-made stones. These options have a number of benefits: they require less human labour, have a reduced carbon footprint, are indistinguishable from their natural counterparts and come with a significantly lower tag price. “If you're defining ethical as knowing the source of a gemstone, then [lab-grown stones] are an ethical option,” says Lebrusan, who uses artificial diamonds on occasion. At the same time, the designer warns against using artificial stones exclusively, which could deprive entire mining communities of their livelihood.
Contributing to the economic development of the communities she works with is paramount for Pippa Small - even if that means supporting mines that adhere to imperfect standards. The British designer sees jewellery as a way of providing meaningful jobs in developing countries or areas of conflict where employment opportunities are scarce. “In Afghanistan we don't have any kind of transparency on the stone mining,” explains the designer. “But because there is a war on and because jobs are so scarce, my position is that it’s really important that they have jobs.”
Increasing awareness
Since the 2006 release of Blood Diamond – the Hollywood film that sent shockwaves through the jewellery industry by exposing the prevalent corruption in the mining and trade of diamonds – consumer awareness has continued to increase, forcing the industry to be more transparent about its practices. “You can vote with your pocketbook,” says Payal Sampat, director of international and mining programs at Earthworks. The non-profit organisation led the way with the launch of the No Dirty Gold campaign in 2004, one of the first movements to bring awareness to customers and retailers about the environmental and human impact of gold mining.
At the same time, working towards transparency can be a real collaborative effort between consumers, NGOs, retailers, designers and brands if they pool their knowledge. This is the aim of the Gemstones and Sustainable Development Knowledge Hub – a project launched in 2017 by the University of Delaware, the University of Queensland and the University of Lausanne – which comprises an online library so people can access articles, research and initiatives concerned with making the jewellery industry more sustainable. “We are trying to get the information together, make it more approachable for consumers and get the discussion going,” explains Dr. Cartier, co-founder of the Hub. “It's not just the corporation that can make a difference,” agrees Péan. “If consumers ask the right questions, we'll start to see a change.”
