Sourcing materials to make your jewelry might seem like a small step in the grand scheme of your jewelry business, but it’s foundational to your success. Your materials determine the quality of your jewelry pieces and can impact their value, not to mention your customers’ perception of your brand’s moral values and contribution to sustainability efforts. In this article, we’ll explore why ethical sourcing is such an important topic in the jewelry industry and how to make sure your brand is sourcing materials in an ethical way — and why it matters so much that you do.
What is Ethical Sourcing in the Jewelry Industry?
Ethical sourcing is the process of obtaining material to produce jewelry in ways that are responsible and considerate of the environment and the people who contribute to sourcing your materials. The reason why this is such a hot topic in the jewelry industry is because historically, it’s been an issue — there were years of unethical practices that many companies and organizations have fought hard to overturn. Let’s look into three areas where ethical sourcing comes into play wtihin the jewelry industry:
Conflict minerals
Conflict minerals are jewelry materials like gold, tin, and tungsten that are mined in a conflict area and are traded illicitly to fund that conflict. Purchaing materials mined in particular areas where war and conflict are happening can contrinbute to financing armed conflict and human rights violations. It’s imporant to do thorough research before purchasing your jewelry materials to ensure that your company does not contribute to any illicit activities that could put people at risk. This decision can impact local communities and global stability.
Environmental impact
Unfortunately, mining for jewelry materials can be very destructive to the planet and have detrimental effects on ecosystems. Some mining practices can contribute to deforestation, habitat destruction, and water pollution from chemical runoff. On top of this, mining and the transportation of excavated materials can leave a big carbon footprint.
Labor practices
As with all production industries, it’s really important to consider the labor practices of sourcing jewelry materials. It’s critical to know that the sourcing partners you choose don’t utilize child labor in mines and processing facilities or create unsafe working conditions in mines and factories. Ensure that your sourcing partners provide fair wages to their mining staff and understand workers' rights.
How to Practice Ethical Sourcing for Your Jewelry Brand
Ethical sourcing for your jewelry products is not only a good way to keep the planet and its people safe, but it’s also important for appealing to your customers. Fortunately, consumers are getting concerned with sustainability efforts and ethical practices and want to support businesses that committ to doing business responsibly. So it’s important for every jewelry brand to take a careful look at their impact on the world at large, not only for the sake of safety and justice, but also in order to succeed.
With all this mind, you might be wondering how your jewelry brand can practice ethical sourcing for jewelry materials. Here are some practical things you can do to ensure you’re doing your part for the planet and its people:
The Responsible Jewelry Council
The Responsible Jewelry Council (often spelled “jewellery” due to the organization's UK origins), or RJC, is an organization that aims to set standards for the jewelry industry to ensure ethical practices across the board. The RJC has carefully researched and put into place simple and effective measures to help facilitate ethical sourcing practices within the jewelry industry. They have Code of Practices and Chain of Custody certifications to ensure that jewelry companies are doing their part to produce jewelry responsibilty. Take a look at their guidelines — if you meet them, your brand can get RJC certified to make sure you’re contributing to the positive change.
Choose your partners carefully
When creating your vendor ecosystem, be careful to conduct research. Do your homework on each partner you consider. When in doubt, explicitly ask your transportation and fufillment providers, your manfauctering partner, and your sourcing partner what their practices are when it comes to sustainability and ethical practices. Ask if they are RJC certified and about their committment to sustainability and ethical practices. They should have this information at the ready — otherwise, consider partnering elsewhere.
MJJ Brilliant has been manufacturing beautiful peices for high end brands for over forty years. In this time, we’ve made a commitment to ethical sourcing practices to ensure the safety of the people and the places that contribute to these beautiful pieces of jewelry. We are proudly RJC certified and are dedicated to enforcing their standards to create a more ethical, sustainable, and safer jewelry industry. If you’re ready to commit to these practices as well, partner with us to make jewelry you can feel proud to create.
