Hi guy and girls!
Vday is right around the corner.
So, i would like to advise many singles, or
attached forumers, in SGF, before giving gifts of jewellery to
their potential significant other, or their own significant other,
dont forget to spare a thought for the enviroment. Hahaha. Go
green! 
Spare some time and take alook at this article. 
Updated: 2/2/2009 10:53:07 AM
You’ve been eying that piece of jewelry for a while now, and why
not splurge on a little something for yourself? Well, there is one
reason to hesitate, if only for a moment. Before you buy, make sure
that you ask if the piece was sourced using clean methods. This
means that workers, and the environment, were not exploited at any
stage of creating the jewelry.
The jewelry industry is taking steps to standardize and certify
its practices. This process is, in many ways, similar to the
standardization of organics. With organics, there’s a seal that
verifies a third party confirmed the produce was farmed using a
trusted set of guidelines. With jewelry, third party monitoring
will provide similar reassurance, and consumers will know that
jewelry sold by the members of an organization called Responsible
Jewellery Council [sic] was created using ethical, social and
environmental practices agreed upon in the RJC Code of Practices.
This certification is known as the RJC System.
First steps in certification have focused on diamonds and
metals. Conflict diamonds -- those sold to fund wars in parts of
Africa -- have drawn wide public concern for ten years. Dirty gold
-- gold mined without regard for human rights or environmental
issues -- is also under scrutiny. "Diamonds and gold are the first
two sectors that we wanted to address because they are the
cornerstone of many jewelry businesses,” says Catherine Sproule,
director of North America Operations for RJC.
Fair trade gems (those harvested in a manner sensitive to people
and place) are another noteworthy issue, but one that has been
difficult to standardize because the gems come from so many
different places. "The supply chain for gemstones is complex,” says
Cecelia Gardner, Esq., president, CEO, and general counsel for
Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC), an organization that helps
jewelers understand and comply with jewelry regulations. "Gemstones
may get repeatedly traded, from source to jeweler, and often are
more difficult to trace.”
Yet purchasing eco-jewelry does not have to be complex, if you
know what to look for. Some jewelry, like diamonds and metals, can
be traced. Some companies dealing in gems copiously track their
sources, even if they can’t certify them, so be sure to ask. If you
want to dig deeper, check out www.responsiblejewellery.com
and get a list of jewelers that comply with their standards.
Another site, www.earthworksaction.org, deals
with mining reform and has information about dirty gold. Other
options are to look for jewelry that is recycled, or companies that
offset their impact by funding social or environmental projects. By
taking a moment to trace your jewelry from source to store, you’ll
ensure its appeal both in how it looks, and in how it was
created.
It’s hard to know the history of recycled jewelry, but when
buying new diamonds, gold, gems or folk jewelry, hold your retailer
accountable. Here are good questions to ask.
