Jewelry News
Jewelry Consumers Flex Green Muscles with Target and Costco
Friday, May 20th, 2011At Brilliant Earth, we’re strong believers in the power of consumers to drive positive social and environmental change. A case in point is the success of the No Dirty Gold campaign by Earthworks International. Jewelry retailers are pledging to support the campaign and abide by No Dirty Gold’s “Golden Rules” for responsible gold mining. So far, more than 70 retailers—including Brilliant Earth—have signed on to the Golden Rules. The latest retailer to sign the pledge is Target, one of the 10 largest jewelry retailers in the United States.
International Divide over Zimbabwe’s Kimberley Process Participation
Thursday, May 5th, 2011For months, countries belonging to the Kimberley Process, the international diamond certification scheme, have been deadlocked in a debate regarding the ban on diamond exports from Zimbabwe’s Marange district. Now those negotiations appear headed for a climactic finish—but unfortunately, not with the hoped for results. We strongly believe that the Kimberley Process’s ban on Marange diamond exports should not be lifted until Zimbabwe improves its human rights record. Less than two years ago, the Zimbabwean army was using brutal methods—including forced labor, child labor, torture, and killings—to oversee mining in the Marange diamond fields. After the Kimberley Process banned …
Stop Dirty Gold Mining on Earth Day!
Friday, April 22nd, 2011Happy Earth Day! For 41 years, Earth Day has inspired individuals to renew their commitment to environmental protection. It also gives us at Brilliant Earth a chance to discuss one of our favorite topics: eco-friendly jewelry. We find that many jewelry shoppers know something about the problem of conflict diamonds—for instance, that diamonds have fueled some of the deadliest civil wars in history. Less well known is that some jewelry industry practices are extremely damaging to the environment. It seems counter intuitive, but in an effort to create something beautiful, the jewelry industry is poisoning water, harming people and wildlife, …
Could There Be Another Civil War Funded by Diamonds?
Tuesday, March 15th, 2011As political change rocks Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya, another African country is braving a crisis of its own: Côte d’Ivoire. Laurent Gbago, the incumbent president, lost the country’s presidential election last November, but refuses to step down. Alassane Ouattara, the winner, has so far been unwilling to agree to a power-sharing arrangement with Gbago. With violence breaking out in several cities, it looks like Côte d’Ivoire may be headed for civil war. For anyone familiar with the history of diamonds and civil wars in Africa, it’s reasonable to be concerned that events are repeating themselves. Côte d’Ivoire is a …
Improving Standards for Wal-Mart’s Love, Earth® Jewelry
Tuesday, February 22nd, 2011One of our chief goals at Brilliant Earth is to mobilize consumer pressure to create changes in the way jewelry is sourced. When other jewelers decide to source their jewelry in a socially and environmentally responsible manner, we applaud that: it means that the market for responsibly-sourced jewelry is expanding and that we’re accomplishing our social mission. But we’re also wary of the risk that other jewelers will market their product as ethical and eco-friendly, without really adhering to the highest labor and environmental standards. Falsely marketing a product as eco-friendly is sometimes called“green-washing.” Green-washing is dangerous, because it misleads …
Gold Mining Companies in Ghana Take Land, Poison Water
Monday, January 10th, 2011Earlier last year, we wrote about a cyanide spill at the Ahafo mine in Ghana. That incident, apparently, was hardly an isolated case. A recent human rights report describes a broad pattern of irresponsible and unethical business practices by gold mining companies operating in Ghana. The report, by a team of human rights observers from The University of Texas at Austin, details how large gold mining companies in western Ghana repeatedly have side stepped consultation with local communities when opening new mines, and how farmers are being evicted from their lands without adequate compensation. The report also documents the heavy …
Stalemate on Zimbabwe Exposes Need for Kimberley Process Reform
Wednesday, November 17th, 2010The Kimberley Process, the international certification scheme designed to stop the trade in conflict diamonds, has been mired in controversy for more than a year now. The question that looms over the Kimberley Process is this: Should diamonds from Zimbabwe be certified as conflict free? A Kimberley Process meeting earlier this month was thought to have been the venue where this question would finally be answered. Instead, the meeting adjourned without any resolution, once again demonstrating that the Kimberley Process is ill-equipped to handle the challenges that Zimbabwe poses.
Rescue of Chilean Miners Points Way to Ending Irresponsible Mining
Thursday, October 28th, 2010Close to a billion people watched on television as the 33 Chilean miners trapped since early August were pulled to the surface. When the San José copper and goldmine near Copiapó, Chile first collapsed more than two months ago, leaving the miners buried about half a mile underground, it was considered doubtful that the miners could be saved. Initial contact with the miners in late August gave reason for hope, but it was not until the miners ascended to freedom last week that the drama finally came to a joyful conclusion.
Zimbabwe: Leading Human Rights Abuser May Become Leading Diamond Exporter
Monday, October 4th, 2010The discovery of diamonds in South Africa in 1867 quickly turned South Africa into the world’s leading diamond exporter. However, with new discoveries since then, other countries have surpassed South Africa in terms of diamond production. The best estimates suggest that South Africa presently produces about 6 million carats of rough diamonds a year—not a small number, but much less than the 20 to 30 million carats produced most years in countries such as Russia and Botswana.
Financial Overhaul Bill Takes Aim at Dirty Gold
Wednesday, August 18th, 2010The financial regulatory bill signed into law by President Obama last month primarily aims to overhaul the guidelines that govern Wall Street. While we will leave it to the political pundits and the economists to provide commentary on the bill’s implications for the U.S. financial system, we would like to highlight a little-noted provision in the bill that affects the market for luxury jewelry. Hidden away in a section entitled “Miscellaneous Provisions” is a measure requiring large, publicly-traded companies to report to the federal government whether certain “conflict minerals” in their products come from the Democratic Republic of Congo or the …
