Eco-Gems & Eco-Jewelry
WHY  WE  SHOULD  CARE

Hope has two beautiful daughters: Anger and Courage. Anger at the way things are, and Courage to see that they do not remain as they are. – Augustine of Hippo (354-430)

A Report by Sheryl Jones and Cynthia Unninayar

Responsibly sourced and faceted gemstones from Columbia Gem House.

"Consumers are really tuning in to the idea of “green” jewelry."

At a mine in Malawi that Columbia Gem House works with, miners sort the gem gravel, looking for precious stones. (Photo: Eric Braunwart)

Rough rubies from the Malawi mine. (Photo: Eric Braunwart)

Eric Braunwart, founder of Columbia Gem House, examines the waste gravel. (Photo: Eric Braunwart)

“Making community services financially reliant on the success or failure of the mine creates a shared responsibility and vested interest for everyone.”

Young boys in Malawi are encouraged to attend school by being able to play soccer. (Photo: Eric Braunwart)

Entrance to the Bridges Tsavorite mine in Kenya. (Photo: Cynthia Unninayar)

A miner holds up a sample of rough tsavorite from the mine. (Photo: Cynthia Unninayar)

A sample of tsavorite in matrix found at the mine. (Photo: Cynthia Unninayar)

Fairmined silver and gold bracelet set with recycled or lab-grown diamonds, designed by Martin Taber for EthAus Jewelry.

An artisanal gold miner in Tanzania uses his bare hands to mix toxic mercury with crushed gold ore to form an amalgam that will later be burned off, leaving the gold in the pan. This process is hazardous not only to the individual miners, but also to the entire communiy and the environment. (Photo: Marc Choyt)

A Kenyan artisanal gold miner holds a retort that will allow for mercury to be safely recycled when goldmercury amalgams are heated during the separation process. (Photo: Marc Choyt)

Fairtrade gold and responsibly sourced gemstone rings by Reflective Images. (Photo: Marc Choyt)

 “Approximately 15 million small-scale gold miners produce 15 to 20 percent of the world’s gold supply,” ​

With the tragic death of Campbell Bridges, the world lost not only a very eminent geologist, gemologist and ethical miner, but also an committed environmentalist and humanist. Shown here in happier days, Bridges feeds an orphaned impala that he adopted and named Friday.

Gemstone and gold rings and earrings designed by Reema Keswani/Golconda.

Elke Berr, back row, second to left, poses with children at an orphanage she helps support in Mogok, Myanmar, during one of her gem-buying trips.

Lorenz Baumer, back row, center, with students in Sumba, Indonesia.

A model organic farm established by Jewelmer's SPSF to teach sustainable farming to inhabitants of Palawan in the Philippines.

For more on eco-friendly gems, jewelry and fashion, click on Magnifeco and Eco-Trends.

  ​ Today, consumers are increasingly concerned about understanding the environmental and social impact of the products they buy—from clothing to footwear, from food to beverages, and, yes, from gemstones and precious metals to finished jewelry.
  Retailers, jewelry designers and brands are making ethically-mined gemstones, diamonds and precious metals the centerpiece of their business. These initiatives are part of their brand identity and an important part of their marketing efforts to consumers.
  These ethical and corporate social responsibility (CSR) practices go beyond mining and cutting to also include social outreach programs, environmental conservation and infrastructure projects in mining areas around the world.
 
Gems – Ethical Sourcing
   Eric Braunwart of Washington-based Columbia Gem House understands that is important to let consumers know the source of their gems and jewelry. When he decided to partner in a mine in Malawi, Africa he recognized that “sharing the journey of a stone from mine to market” is part of their buying experience.
    Bruce Bridges, of Arizona-based Bridges Tsavorite Inc., also says that the story behind the stone is very important. One of the unique aspects of this company is that it is fully integrated from mine to market. The tsavorite from their mines in Kenya is in their control from the time it leaves the earth, through washing and sorting, right up to the moment it is ready to sell as a faceted gemstone. This allows them 100 percent quality control and the ability to verify that their goods are mined legally, ethically and in an environmentally friendly manner.
    On a larger scale, UK-based Gemfields also maintains this type of control over its stones from around the world. “Our approach is to set new benchmarks for environmental, social and safety practices in the colored gemstone sector. Recognizing our leadership role, we are working to support increased transparency across the wider downstream supply chain, thereby providing discerning customers with increased confidence in the responsible journey their gemstones have taken all the way from our mines,” says Ian Harebottle, Gemfields CEO. Colombia-based MUZO also controls every step its emeralds from the famed mine travel as they move up the supply chain.
   Knowing the sources of gemstones is important to retailers and designers who want to support and do business with them because they are committed to buying gems that are ethically sourced. Martin Taber, of California-based Taber Studios, explains, “I purchase sapphires exclusively through Columbia Gem House, where they are originally sourced from Montana gem fields.” Taber is also president of Ethical Metalsmiths, whose mission is to work directly with jewelers and metalsmiths to raise awareness of current sourcing issues and manufacturing practices, with the goal of improving the mining and jewelry industries.
   Reema Keswani, owner of New York gem dealer and custom designer, Golconda, makes ethical sourcing an integral part of her business. She travels the world to meet the smaller miners and get as close to the source as possible in order to assess labor conditions and practices.
  Meeting the demand for ethically sourced diamonds can be more challenging than for gemstones. While approximately 80 percent of colored gem mining is carried out by small artisanal miners, which can allow for more transparency and the ability to adapt to changes, the diamond market—once controlled by DeBeers—has a history of non-transparency in pricing, issues of child labor, human rights violations and the funding of bloody civil wars in the production of the stones.
    To counter these issues, the international Kimberley Process Certification Scheme entered into force in 2003. It establishes the requirements for controlling rough diamond production and trade. While it has certainly helped to ensure “conflict-free” diamonds in the vast majority of cases, issues of non-compliance, smuggling and human rights abuses other issues still plague the industry.
   For some jewelers and designers looking for ways to ethically source diamonds, the answer is lab-grown. These cultured stones are exactly like their earth-mined counterparts, but are created in a laboratory. This sector has received a lot of attention recently from celebrities such as Leonardo DiCaprio (who starred in the film Blood Diamond), who has focused attention on California-based Diamond Foundry, for example.  
  “We also offer customers cultured diamonds,” adds Taber, whose company is a member of Diamond Foundry’s master artisan and design program. Another growing trend is the use of recycled diamonds. He adds that the natural diamonds they use “are mostly recycled stones as this minimizes the impact on the environment because they have already been mined.” Among other designers who use recycled diamonds is California-based Tura Sugden. “We source recycled diamonds from vetted companies,” she explains.
 
The Tarnished Glitter of Gold
   The way gemstones and diamonds are sourced is only one part of the bigger issue of how all natural resources are mined and distributed. Retailers and jewelry designers are also looking for ethically-mined precious metals such as gold and silver in order to create pieces that are as sustainable as possible.
  “Approximately 15 million small-scale gold miners produce 15 to 20 percent of the world’s gold supply,” says Marc Choyt, of New Mexico-based Reflective Images. In this artisan small-scale mining process, he continues, “elemental mercury is utilized because it is inexpensive and very low tech. Gold grains from alluvial or crushed rock are mixed with mercury to create an amalgam of mercury-gold.”
    Choyt goes on to explain, “The gold amalgam is then heated, sometimes in frying pans that are then used for cooking!” The vaporized mercury, one of the most dangerous of all neurotoxins, is released into the environment leaving the gold in the pan. The mercury that is not inhaled in the burning process eventually ends up in the environment where it is eaten or absorbed by organisms and is converted to the highly toxic methyl mercury.
   While the Mad Hatter was a fictional character in Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the neurotoxic effects of occupational chronic mercury poisoning due to the felting process of hat making were not at all fictional. Nor are the consequential effects of mercury poisoning in the gold supply chain.
    While concerns with large-scale gold mining companies and their effect on the environment—they use mercury, cyanide and other chemicals—has been widely reported, we focus attention here on the artisanal cog in the supply chain. Increasingly, designers, retailers and brands are turning to groups such as Fair Trade Gold and Silver. This organization provides an avenue of distribution for small-scale miners by connecting them to ethically minded designers. They guarantee a certain standard on working conditions, child labor, women’s rights, clean technology, health, safety and organizational management with transparency and traceability in mining operations. Miners are guaranteed a certain market price and a premium of $2000 per kilogram of metal to invest in their businesses and communities.
 
Practicing CSR
   Transparency and ethics from mine to market are one aspect of doing business in a developing country. The other component is to create and support programs and provide services that have a positive impact, in other words, to practice Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
    When Braunwart decided fifteen years ago to enter into a partnership at a sapphire and ruby mine in Malawi, he had a goal that a portion of the profits from the mine would go to improve the community. “NGOs and various grants start programs, but as soon as the money runs out, it is over,” he says. “Making community services financially reliant on the success or failure of the mine creates a shared responsibility and vested interest for everyone.”
     To ensure that local residents felt they were being heard and had a say in decisions that affected them, Braunwart created a community group. By including everyone in the decision-making process, “they are also a part of finding solutions to problems that are sometimes cultural.” When he built a school, he got local residents involved when children didn’t want to attend. “To engage the boys, someone came up with the idea of getting twenty soccer balls. This made the boys want to come and play—and learn. The girls wanted clothes to wear to school. So we made uniforms for them.” And he built housing for the teachers who wanted to live near the school.
    There are different ways to have an impact on a community. Campbell Bridges, Bruce’s father, created an entire industry in East Africa with his discovery of tsavorite in the late 1960s. “My father created an industry that didn’t exist before,” says Bruce Bridges. “He felt strongly about creating organizations like the Kenya Chamber of Mines, which was designed to help local miners have a stronger voice and be able to petition as one. And he also wrote standards for the industry such as the guide to artisanal mining.” Campbell Bridges gave full medical and liability insurance for his workers, which also helped create a standard for compensation. Other businesses, schools, and clinics were built as a direct result of starting this industry and helped improve the lives of many people.
  In addition to helping the miners and local communities, Bridges’ initiatives and forward thinking helped conserve the environment, serving as a model for others. “We created a whole water catchment system and use solar power.” Their practice of tunneling as soon as possible is far less destructive to the land. “Unlike traditional mining sites where the earth is gouged out, leaving huge open pits, we have a beautiful site with trees and flora and fauna that attract wildlife that we keep safe on our property.”
These tangible successes help fuel the desire to continue to build upon what is working. It is especially important during time of setbacks and hardships. When Campbell Bridges was tragically murdered a few years ago, the trial of eight of the people responsible for his death lasted almost five years. During that time, for safety reasons, the mine was closed but Bridges continued to pay all their workers. The mine re-opened January 5 and Bridges is “eager to carry on my father’s dream and legacy.”
    The inspiration to conduct business that reflects core beliefs can come from many places. In her effort to provide ethically produced and sustainable goods, Keswani adds, “I look for women in management positions, not just administrative level, because a lot of this is fueled from my experience being a woman of color.” In addition to sourcing rough stones, “I make it clear on my website that we work with LGBT couples and make that the foundational stone of my business. It has successfully drawn the right clientele to me who really do care about social issues.”
    Designers around the world are increasingly being noticed for their CSR efforts. Switzerland-based Elke Berr travels the world in her search for ethical stones for her clients. “In order to have consumer trust, industry players must be transparent and deal ethically, not only with their customers downstream, but also with their suppliers upstream,” she says. “Aside from business, we also try to make a difference in the lives of miners and their families and communities.” One of the ways she helps is in Mogok, Burma (Myanmar) where she provides support for a children’s orphanage. “This allows children to be raised by volunteer ‘mothers,’ who receive funds to help take care of the children. This affords them the opportunity to attend school and receive a basic education.”
   From his luxurious boutique on the Place Vendôme in Paris, French designer Lorenz Baumer, is very down to earth when it comes to helping out those less fortunate. A supporter of FXB International’s VillageFXB, which addresses poverty and malnutrition around the world, he also uses jewelry to benefit children’s education in Sumba, Indonesia. “I designed a collection of pendants inspired by traditional motifs that are crafted by people on the island who use ancient weaving techniques,” he explains. “The money from the sale of each of these bracelets pays for supplies for ten children to attend school for an entire year.” Last year, his project allowed 2000 children to go to school. “That is the most beautiful jewel of all,” he smiles.
    In the Philippines, the focus of Jewelmer has been on creating pearl farms to produce the highest quality golden pearls in the world. Along with their success, however, co-founders Jacques Branellec and Manuel Cojuangco looked to the next level, where environmental protection, sustainability, and social responsibility are vitally important. “While pollution, climate change, rising sea levels, and shore erosion are a threat to the global community,” says Branellec, “Jewelmer is also confronted with challenges on a micro level, problems with a direct bearing on the health of our oysters and hence our pearls.” The most destructive challenges are the illegal practices of sodium cyanide fishing and dynamite fishing, which have far-reaching negative consequences on the health of the sea. The unlawful technique of “slash and burn,” used in cultivating rice, results in desertification of the land and silt that enters the ocean upsetting the natural balance in the coastal ecosystem.
  Branellec and Cojuangco understood that simply prohibiting these practices would not work because for some (but not all) of these wrongdoers, it is a question of survival. The only durable answer to these problems is to change the prevailing mentality and behavior by offering other options. In 2006, they created “Save Palawan Seas Foundation (SPSF)” to provide conservation and management strategies to facilitate the long-term sustainable use of aquatic resources of the province of Palawan. Jewelmer also operates a free medical clinic for residents of the neighboring communities.
 
Changing Attitudes
    Awareness of the dark side of the jewelry industry and solutions to make it bright is definitely growing, according to Taber, who gave the example of an event hosted by Pure Earth in New York City to raise money for efforts to clean up highly toxic communities in the developing world. “The event raised over $300,000 to work towards eradicating mercury and other toxic chemicals from artisanal gold mining. In all the conversations I had with attendees, there was a sense of commitment, passion, and integrity for real and substantive change that I found quite heartening.”
     Braunwart finds that consumers are really tuning in to the idea of “green” jewelry. “One of our customers [Trios Jewelry Studio, Lake Oswego, Oregon] did a Fair Trade promotion where they offered a discount on purchases, but said, if buyers wished, they could denote the discount to help build a school and clinic in Malawi. Most buyers chose to pay the full amount and have the additional go to the project.” He adds that he “runs tests whereby, when we have a stone call, we match two stones that would fill the order. Both are from the same origin but we price them 10 percent differently.” One stone comes with its full story including origin and development projects, while the other has an unknown provenance. “The consumers pay the extra for the one with the story.”
   According to Earthworks, some 115 jewelry brands, designers and retailers of all sizes and product type, support the its Golden Rules, a set of criteria for responsible mining.
    Braunwart concludes, “Years ago, when we started, there was never been any presentations at a trade show about working in communities where goods were sourced. Today, things have changed. Discussions are more prevalent and many people are incorporating the story behind the stone. This is the key to having the gemstone jewelry industry remain relevant and profitable.”