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This post is about fairmined gold and how it compares to recycled gold. I’m sure you have all heard of recycled gold but fairmined gold is a more ethical and more eco-friendly choice for fine jewelry.
When it comes to ethical and eco-friendly fine jewelry, you really just have two choices: you have fairmined gold or you have recycled gold.
Fairmined is real gold. Fairmined gold describes gold that is under the Fairmined certification standard and guarantees traceability, environmental protection and development of small mining communities.
Fairmined gold and normal gold are very different. Normal gold is extracted with toxic chemicals like cyanide and mercury that has disastrous effects on the environment and miners are not protected in any way making dangerous working conditions and child labor commonplace. Fairmined gold successfully eradicates these issues by providing protection for workers, training and support of at risk mining communities.
The good thing about gold is that it can be infinitely recycled, it can be melted down millions of times and never lose its integrity. It just needs to be remixed with other alloys to make up the carat of the gold.
My collection is predominantly fairmined gold for all the cast pieces and elements, but for a lot of the findings, and chains, and clasps, they come in recycled gold.
Fairmined gold is fully traceable thanks to ARM and SCS global services. When talking about our gold, our gold comes from artisanal small scale mines in Columbia and Peru. Every player in the fairmined supply chain has to be certified fairmined from the miners, to recovery, to the person who brings it to market. At this time only small scale artisanal mines can be certified fairmined.
Recycled gold cannot be traced. It's pretty much impossible unless you're dealing with heirloom gold, but that's really rare. So you have to consider that recycled gold could come from a number of sources including being originally mined in a way in recent history that harmed people and the planet.
Fairmined gold is very ethical as the name implies. The miners are paid a fair living wage and their communities flourish. Fairmined certified mines have to have safe working conditions, they have to have gender equality, they also cannot employ children, and they cannot finance conflict.
Buying recycled gold hasn't reduced the demand for gold mining, but buying fairmined gold has made a noticeable difference in the lives of miners that would otherwise be at great risk.
I would say that recycled gold isn't really ethical. I would say it's neutral. It originally came from mines who mistreated their employees, underpaid them, and exposed them to dangerous working conditions.
Fairmined mines are eco-friendly because they have to meet a number of rigorous standards for handling of toxic chemicals and also for protecting the environment. Fairmined mines ensure that there's no drinking water contamination, and that there's a positive environmental legacy for their surrounding environment.
I would argue that recycled gold isn't really eco-friendly because it still needs to be mined in a way at its origin where it contributes to deforestation and polluting of drinking water. Like I said, recycled gold isn't decreasing the demand for gold mining, so we can't really say yet that it's making a positive impact, we should still be recycling gold of course, but the answer is fairmined gold.
I hope you enjoyed my discussion on fairmined gold versus recycled gold. As you can tell, I'm a huge fan of fairmined gold. Fairmined gold is making a huge difference in the gold mining industry and for jewelers it's just a no brainer choice to use. Your purchase really helps improve the lives of so many people in the supply chain, and it should be the standard for gold everywhere.
Thanks for reading and let me know what you think in the comments below!
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Print and download this chart to find your ring size. Make sure you use exactly 8.5"x11" letter paper. You can use a string or a piece of paper and wrap around your finger or nuckle to measure the circumference and match to your size.
Brilliant Earth Ring Sizing Guide ↠
Follow this chart to see where the necklace will fall. All necklace sizes are described on the product pages. We suggest getting a piece of string and measuring necklace on your neck to ensure best fit.
To keep your jewels looking their best please keep these tips in mind to extend the life of your pieces.
