A guide to more ethical and fair trade jewellery

The demand for natural resources continues to grow, yet sourcing and extracting these materials is becoming increasingly challenging. This makes certain resources, like gold and silver, both scarce and expensive. To address this, the jewellery industry is gradually shifting towards a more circular model, recycling and reusing precious metals instead of relying solely on mining. In fact, much of the gold and silver used in jewellery across Western Europe is sourced from recycled materials, including old jewellery. This not only reduces environmental impact but also ensures better working conditions, as the recycling process often takes place within the European Union. Your favourite piece of jewellery might already be crafted from recycled gold — without you even realising it.

The environmental and social impact of mining metals

Gold and silver mining has profound environmental and social impacts. Large-scale mining operations often destroy forests and unique landscapes, leading to biodiversity loss. Extracting gold and silver requires toxic chemicals like cyanide and sulphuric acid, producing vast amounts of hazardous waste, including heavy metals such as lead and mercury. This waste frequently contaminates rivers, lakes, and eventually food supplies, posing severe risks to human health. Furthermore, the process consumes enormous quantities of fresh water, often causing droughts and water scarcity in local communities. On average, 20 tonnes of mining waste are generated for a single gold ring, illustrating the extreme environmental toll of these operations.

The social consequences are equally severe. Local communities are frequently displaced to make way for mines, with farmers losing their land without compensation. Once the metals are extracted, abandoned mines leave communities without resources, clean water, or fertile farmland. Workers often endure dangerous conditions for minimal wages. Accidents in the mines, despite being devastating, rarely gain media attention.

To mitigate these impacts, we must question the origins of gold and silver and support initiatives promoting more ethical mining practices and research different options for material sourcing.

Embracing a more circular approach: recycled metals

Using recycled metals for jewellery could provide a more environmentally and socially responsible alternative to traditional mining. Recycling eliminates the need for destructive mining practices, which devastate ecosystems, displace communities, and produce toxic waste. Metals like gold and silver retain their quality indefinitely, allowing them to be reused without degrading. By relying on existing materials, the need for hazardous chemicals like cyanide and sulphuric acid is avoided, reducing risks to water sources and agricultural land. Recycling also consumes less energy and water compared to mining, conserving vital resources. In Belgium, where mobile phones outnumber residents, countless devices containing valuable metals are discarded. Companies such as Umicore recover up to 95% of the metals in e‑waste, with one tonne yielding 100 times more gold than mined ore. This process not only prevents environmental pollution but also supports a circular economy by keeping valuable resources in use. Moreover, using recycled metals reduces reliance on exploitative mining practices, which are often linked to unsafe working conditions and community displacement.

Recycled jewellery

Many jewellers offer the option to transform your old jewellery into a new piece, adding even greater sentimental value to your precious jewels. Metals like gold and silver can be remelted, certified with a new carat value, and adorned with reset precious stones or diamonds.

Beyond reworking old jewellery, many creative jewellers are embracing unique designs made from various waste streams. Brands such as Nico Taeymans, NUE, Or Service, Huis Pauwels-Spaenjers, Zoë Detrez, Atelier Luz, Xzota, and Fien Demuynck use recycled gold and silver in their creations. Many of these jewellers collect old jewellery from clients to recycle into new designs, adhering to ethical and conscious recycling practices. Some also source their recycled metals from trusted suppliers like Umicore, ensuring a responsible approach to material reuse.

Why recycled metals aren’t necessarily a perfect solution

While recycled metals could be seen as an ethical alternative to newly mined materials, they are not a perfect conscious choice. The recycling process itself can still involve significant energy consumption and may rely on fossil fuels, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, much of the recycled gold and silver in circulation often originates from e‑waste, which can involve informal recycling practices in developing countries, where workers are exposed to unsafe conditions and toxic chemicals. Moreover, the supply of recycled metals is limited and dependent on waste availability, meaning demand for jewellery could still indirectly drive mining activities. Finally, the certification and traceability of recycled metals can sometimes be unclear, making it difficult to guarantee that the materials have been responsibly sourced or processed.

Line Vanden Bogaerde, jewellery designer and expert in this field, points out that vast amounts of gold are stored in banks and therefore do not enter circulation to be recycled. At the same time, the demand for ‘recycled’ gold continues to rise, leading some jewellers to market gold as ‘recycled’ when, in reality, it originates from (illegal) mining and is even sold at a lower price than newly mined gold. This raises not only ethical concerns regarding transparency and traceability but also social issues: worldwide, more than a million children still work under deplorable conditions in this sector, says Line. That is why, as an entrepreneur, she consciously chooses Fairmined gold—a choice that ensures not only better working conditions but also a more sustainable product.

What about fair mined metals?

Fair mined metals offer a more ethical and environmentally conscious alternative to conventional mining. Small-scale mines, which supply the largest amount of gold and silver globally, can obtain certifications like Fairtrade or Fairmined Gold and Silver, which guarantee improved working conditions, fair wages, and a bonus to lift miners out of poverty. Fairmined certification evaluates four key areas: social development, economic development, environmental protection, and safe working conditions. Additionally, Fairmined offers an “ecological” certification for mines that completely avoid the use of toxic chemicals like cyanide and mercury. While these certifications promote significant progress, challenges remain.

Mining still disrupts local ecosystems and consumes resources, even under better conditions. The certification process can also be expensive and inaccessible for some small-scale miners. Moreover, jewellery made with fair mined metals often comes at a higher cost, which may limit its accessibility for consumers.

So, if you are looking for a more sustainable option for your jewellery, you can opt for recycled or fairmined metals. Both solutions have their challenges, but the environmental and/or social impact is still significantly lower.

Tips for more conscious jewellery purchases

Ask Questions
Engage with the jeweller or brand to learn more about the products’ origins and the conditions in which they are made. Inquire whether they support local communities where materials are mined or contribute to fair trade initiatives for diamonds, gold, or silver. Transparency and commitment to ethical practices are key indicators of a conscious jewellery choice.
Ask yourself where materials come from
Be mindful of where the materials for your jewellery come from. Avoid diamonds sourced from conflict zones such as Zimbabwe, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, and the Ivory Coast. Instead, opt for diamonds from countries with more robust and strict standards, such as Canada, Australia, Namibia, or Sierra Leone.
Don’t only follow certifications
While certifications can provide some assurance of ethical practices, they often don’t tell the whole story. Investigate further to ensure the brand or jeweller’s claims align with your values and expectations.