What responsible jewelry consumers should be asking jewelry companies

If you’ve read my previous post, “What every jewelry consumer needs to know before purchasing their next piece of jewelry” or have done your own research into some of the environmental issues and human rights abuses that exist in the jewelry industry, and are now ready to take action to shop more responsibly, here is your guide.

Purchasing your piece of jewelry is a way of voting with your dollars, and it’s a vote in support of the practices of the jeweler you choose to buy from. If you want to know whether your value system aligns with their practices, you’ll first want to establish what your moral priorities are and then get more information from them.

What are your personal priorities?

Let’s begin by clearly establishing your own personal decision making framework. What moral values do you want to prioritize in making your decision? Some things to consider:

• What method of metal sourcing do you prefer? Responsible artisanal mined? Recycled? Keep in mind the positives and negatives associated with each. (Also covered in my previous post)
• What assurances do you want to have about the gemstones used? Is knowing where and when they were mined most important to you? Are you also considering the cutting process and the workers involved?
• Are there other factors or business practices that are really important to you? Packaging? Studio practices? Philanthropy?

Establishing these questions and answers for yourself ahead of time will help make sure you check the boxes that matter most to you.

Information Gathering — Parsing Company Claims

Some jewelers or jewelry companies make no public claims about their production practices. While that could mean that they have something to hide, it could also mean that they are acting responsibly but have not yet seen enough of a reason to make that a part of the conversation they are having with their customers. It is always worth starting a conversation. If your questions are met with vague answers or hostility, they may be too set in their profit-first ways. (We can’t win ’em all!) But your inquiries are at least showing them that there are customers out there who want more information. If you choose to move on and purchase from someone else, it will also eventually show them that their lack of transparency can cost them sales. However, for the responsible jeweler who hasn’t yet made speaking up about their standards a priority, your questions may be just the encouragement they need to start sharing more about their practices!

On the other hand, you may also come across companies making general, blanket claims such as “our jewelry is sustainable” or “our materials are eco-friendly”. If there is no further information anywhere that explains what they mean in using these words, it could be an instance of greenwashing. We shouldn’t assume that our own definition or understanding of “sustainable” is implicit in their claim, for example. (Side note here: I also volunteer with The Jewelry Glossary Project, which is a group of industry professionals working to get everyone in the jewelry industry on the same page with definitions of commonly used marketing language in the context of jewelry production.) Whether intentional or not, painting in the broad strokes of these types of marketing claims can result in greenwashing.

As defined by consultant Christina T. Miller: “Greenwashing is the practice of advertising with environmental claims which cannot be substantiated and are made for commercial benefit.”

If the greenwashing is unintentional, that company or jeweler should be open to having conversations and answering questions. Questions in good faith about what they mean when they make a certain claim can show them that there is opportunity to have transparent conversations with their customers. In the instance of intentional greenwashing though, you’ll need to be very discerning. This is when having that base knowledge of the issues that are present is very helpful. When you understand how complex the problems in the jewelry industry are, you can understand that the solutions are not going to be as simple as taking one action and proclaiming yourself to be “sustainable”. Customers should demand more clear and honest information.

Information Gathering — Asking For Transparency

If we’re starting from a blank slate (the company or jeweler makes no public claims or statements), you can start a conversation by asking some general questions:

• “What can you tell me about your production practices?”
• “How do you source your materials?”

How they answer (or don’t answer) a general and open-ended question can tell you a lot. It will either open the door for further conversation or convey to you that they go with the status quo (read: probably exploitative) practices.

If a company is already providing some claims on their website, social media, or other marketing materials, ask for further explanation and how their claims are backed up.

• “Your website says your jewelry is sustainable. How do you define sustainability?”
• “You make a claim of responsible sourcing. How do you decide where to source your materials from?”
• “This ad says you use recycled materials. Does that mean 100% post-consumer recycled? Or a different definition of recycled?”

Of course the exact questions you ask will depend on what information they are already providing and what your priorities are. But remember that when you see a claim, you can ask for proof or explanation of that claim. Their willingness to discuss with you can be an indication of their earnestness in making those claims. In the end, deciding what is enough information is up to you. Trust does have a place in this process, it just shouldn’t be the only step (verify then trust).

So if you care about being more responsible in your jewelry purchases (and if you’ve made it this far, I bet you do!), show jewelry companies that by asking questions. Join me in promoting radical transparency in a traditionally secretive industry— the next time you see a piece of jewelry you’d like to purchase, ask for some honest information about how it was made.

As always, I’m happy to discuss and answer questions. Here, on Instagram, Twitter, or email. I’ll leave you with just a couple resources to help find responsible and ethical jewelers:

• Ethical Metalsmiths Member Jewelers
• Anza Gems — gemstones and jewelry giving back to mining communities