Fashion trends come and go in thousands of ways and in millions of reasons.
Some fashion trends, though, come not from a sense of style of aesthetic, but a desperate need to protect the earth and the people living on it.
There are many who have feared how dangerous and unethical the jewelry industry can get, and ethical jewelry is the answer to that.
Interested in learning what this trend is about and how you can join in? Follow along below!
What is Ethical Jewelry
In the past few decades, the worry about unethical business practices has been on the rise. Problems like sweatshops and child labor have gotten more and more media attention as time goes on.
The jewelry industry is not innocent regarding all these issues.
Ethical jewelry has been a response to these unethical problems. Many jewelry makers, both large and small, have found a few workarounds that allow customers to have fashionable jewelry without moral problems.
What are these problems and their solutions? Let's look at them.
The Unethical Problems
Corporations cutting corners for profit is not a new headline. When those cut corners also involve political upheaval and massive environmental harm, those cut corners are a major issue.
1. Blood Diamonds and Conflict Mining
There are many areas around the globe that have troubling political climates. A lot of these areas, like Sierra Leone and the Congo, produce a number of diamonds and other valuable gemstones.
A good portion of diamonds and other gemstones came from these areas, due to companies being able to snag supply at competitive rates.
While this has been very reduced, the distribution of these stones is still a problem. It is near impossible to tell whether a gemstone comes from conflict mining areas or not.
2. Clear Cutting and Strip Mining
As the desire for metals and resources grow, there have been more and more extreme methods of gathering them.
To get at the valuable minerals beneath the earth, many distributors have unearthed entire habitats. Forests get clear cut for miles and mountainsides get stripped.
This has drastic effects on a variety of environmental aspects, from displaced animals to tearing apart ecology environments.
The Ethical Response
While backlash has made small marks to stop companies from these, some prefer to find alternatives to make more ethical jewelry.
These various companies and brands have a few methods of creation. These are two major pushback forces.
1. Recycled Material
To reduce the continued dredging of extra resources, many jewelry makers have turned towards recycling already produced products.
This also helps with being more responsible for future production elements. It does limit the ways that a maker can get materials, which can affect cost.
2. The Kimberly Process
Launched in 2003, the Kimberly Process is an attempt to clean up the diamond and other gemstone industries.
The process has its limitations but has helped crackdown in the high trafficking of diamonds to fund radical military elements. Without this funding, it helps to hamper the dangerous civil destruction in many areas of the world.
An Ethical Beauty
Ethical jewelry has a lot of potentials to help lead a lot of the fashion industry into a healthier, cleaner, and more ethical future.
If you have interest in helping to push for said future, or want more information about the products of ethical jewelry, you can contact us today for more information!
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