What is ethical jewellery and can it ever be 100% ethical?

You may have heard people say that to be truly ethical would mean not producing or wearing jewellery. Jewellery has adorned the body for millennia indicating social status, wealth or for beauty and this is not about to change now. Here at Opulent Ethics we are of the opinion that jewellery is staying put and the best thing we can do is to change consumer opinion so that those who purchase jewellery begin questioning where their products come from.

To be 100% ethical is very difficult and may even be near impossible at this time so the best piece of advice we here at Opulent Ethics can give is to choose your battles wisely. With our jewellery we began by sourcing UK recycled silver from a responsible source, Cred, whilst trying to keep our carbon footprint as small as possible by using UK gem stones. By using Western sources for metals and gems stones you are able to ensure they are fairly mined.

The ethical jewellery produced by Opulent Ethics uses materials which are obtained from sources that impact as little as possible on the environment and local communities. Examples of our ethical choices include ensuring gems are not from countries where money from their sale funds war or conflict and silver is acquired from a company which recycles industry and left over jewellery silver. In the future, where Opulent Ethics decides to use gold this will be Fair Trade and acquired from family run small-scale mines which use alluvial mining techniques such as panning rather than large open pit mines which obtain their gold using chemical techniques. For information on the impact of mining see the No Dirty Gold website.

Sustainable materials such as wool, woods or seeds are another possibility. Opulent Ethics are hoping to be working with vegetable ivory this year and will keep you up to date on all we find out.

It has become evident recently that artisanal techniques such as filigree are making a comeback in jewellery. Craftsmanship is now very important in design and consumers want to see evidence of these hand skills in their purchases. This is a positive for ethical jewellers such as Leblas who have been trying to resurrect traditional Spanish filigree skills in recent years.

Leblas’ De Blas Tanzanite Ring

Leblas’ collections are produced by filigree artisans in Spanish workshops whose skills have been passed down through centuries of perfected craftsmanship. They also ensure that their pieces are produced using sustainable practices, using materials and running their business in a socially, environmentally and culturally responsible way.

Overall, ethical jewellery should be based on fair trade principles. By this we mean that all involved in the supply chain should be paid a fair wage and they and their environment should not be exploited. You can go as far as ensuring that chemicals used in your studio are less harmful and are disposed of responsibly.

Here at Opulent Ethics we have made our choices as to how we can be as ethical as possible within the limits of today’s jewellery trade. Sadly, these limits mean that it is currently not always possible for our jewellery to be 100% ethical but we are constantly working towards moving nearer to this goal and we hope that one day soon it will be possible. Because of this we feel that transparency is very important as we do not want to mislead our consumers. We are open and honest about all the materials and techniques we have used whilst producing and manufacturing our products and we hope that this gives possible consumers the confidence they need to believe in our products.

That’s all for now….