AI spotlights eight jewelry brands that blend artistry with a commitment to social and environmental responsibility. These brands stand out for their ethical sourcing, sustainable practices, and support for fair labor. Their work in the jewelry industry showcases a dedication to both crafting stunning pieces and fostering global stewardship, underlining the importance of balancing beauty with ethical integrity.
The Problems in the Jewelry Industry
What Consumers Can Do
Choosing Lab-Grown Gems: Lab-grown gems have a significantly lower environmental impact compared to mined gems. By choosing jewelry with lab-grown gems, consumers can help reduce the ecological footprint of the jewelry industry.
Buying Second-Hand Jewelry: Purchasing pre-owned jewelry reduces the demand for new pieces, thereby decreasing the environmental impact associated with mining and production.
Prioritizing Sustainable Brands: Consumers can support brands that prioritize sustainability and ethical practices in their operations. This encourages more companies to adopt environmentally friendly approaches.
Recycling Jewelry: Consumers can recycle their old jewelry or sell it to companies that do. This reduces the need for new materials and helps decrease mining waste.
AII choose brands based on the essential sustainability certifications and standards, specifically for the jewelry industry.
Michael Hill
Michael Hill is a specialty retailer of jewelry, founded in 1979 by Sir Michael Hill and his wife Christine. The brand operates 281 stores across Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. Michael Hill’s vision is to make fine jewelry accessible to everyone. The brand is committed to creating quality jewelry for customers to cherish for a lifetime. It is also dedicated to sustainability, with a goal to transform how it sources and manufactures its products.
Price Range: ranges from as low as $15 to around $1,499
Key Sustainable Features:
- By 2030, Michael Hill aims for 100% of its products to be sustainable, responsible, or circular
- The brand is working to reduce its negative impact to net zero
- Certifying their laboratory-created diamonds, Michael Hill ensures climate neutrality, full traceability, and high standards in environmental and social responsibility under the SCS 007 Jewelry Sustainability Standard
Oscar Massin
Oscar Massin, a French jewelry house founded in the 19th century, is known for its visionary designs and elevated craftsmanship. The brand has been revived with a focus on sustainability and ethical practices. Oscar Massin is the first heritage luxury brand to offer fine jewelry collections that use only climate-neutral lab-grown diamonds and 100% recycled gold.
Price Range: approximately $1,400 – $22,000
Key Sustainable Features:
- Oscar Massin uses 100% climate-neutral, lab-grown diamonds set in recycled 18k gold
- The brand’s lab-grown diamonds are SCS-certified as carbon-neutral
- Oscar Massin provides full and transparent U.S. origin traceability, with 99.9% accuracy through the entire chain of custody
- The brand’s lab-grown diamonds are “as grown,” with zero post-growth enhancements
- Oscar Massin is committed to lowering its overall carbon footprint toward net zero
SOKO
SOKO is an ethical jewelry brand that connects Kenyan artisans with the global marketplace. As a certified B-Corp™, SOKO uses business as a force for good, reducing inequality and poverty by creating quality jobs with dignity and purpose.
Price Range: spans from around $100 to over $200 for various accessories
Key Sustainable Features:
- Empowers Artisans: SOKO provides a platform for Kenyan artisans to sell their products globally
- Promotes Equality: The brand works towards reducing inequality and poverty1.
- Creates Quality Jobs: SOKO is committed to creating quality jobs with dignity and purpose
- Certified B-Corp™: SOKO is a certified B-Corp™, which means they meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose
Aurate
Aurate is a New York City-based jewelry startup that offers affordable, beautiful, and ethically-sourced fine jewelry. Founded in 2015 by Sophie Kahn and Bouchra Ezzahraoui, Aurate aims to fill the gap in the market for contemporary, fine jewelry. The brand is committed to sustainability, using only 100% recycled gold and ethically sourced diamonds and precious gems.
Price Range: starts from $40 for a single gold vermeil earring and goes up to $3,000 for a diamond baguette ring
Key Sustainable Features:
- Uses Recycled Gold: Aurate began its journey by using only 100% recycled gold
- Ethically Sourced Diamonds and Gems: The brand applies the same practice to their diamonds and precious gems, ensuring they are ethically sourced
- Sustainably Farmed Pearls: Aurate uses sustainably farmed and sensitively harvested pearls from family-run farms
- Transparent Supply Chain: Aurate is transparent about where their materials come from, providing customers with peace of mind
- Social Responsibility: Aurate believes in “paying it forward,” donating thousands of books to support and empower the developing literacy and imagination of children in need across US schools
Brilliant Earth
Brilliant Earth is a digital-first jewelry company and a global leader in ethically sourced fine jewelry. Founded in 2005, the company’s mission is to cultivate a more transparent, sustainable, compassionate, and inclusive jewelry industry. Brilliant Earth offers a wide range of jewelry, including engagement rings, wedding rings, and Beyond Conflict Free Diamonds™.
As a Brilliant Pick, this piece displays the best and brightest in fashion and design and is beloved by Brilliant Earth designers and customers alike.
Price Range: from $95 to more than $8,400
Key Sustainable Features:
- The company uses 93% of gold and 99.8% of silver from recycled sources
- Brilliant Earth offers thousands of blockchain-enabled diamonds, allowing customers to track a diamond from its origins at the mining operator, through cutting and polishing, all the way to the customer
- The company has launched its new Fairmined collection, which empowers artisanal and small-scale miners and their families
- Brilliant Earth has partnered with Pure Earth, an environmental non-profit, to help empower miners, restore rainforests, and deploy mercury-free mining techniques in artisanal gold mining communities
FTJCo
FTJCo, originally known as the Fair Trade Jewellery Co, is a pioneer in ethical and sustainable jewelry practices1. Founded in 2006, the brand is committed to creating fine jewelry with integrity. FTJCo is the first retailer in Canada accredited to carry SCS-007 Sustainability Rated Diamonds3. The brand’s vision is to offer jewelry that reflects social and environmental values.
Price Range: approximately $300 – $75,000
Key Sustainable Features:
- FTJCo uses gems that start at $300 and diamonds ranging anywhere from $1,300 for a third-carat stone of good quality to $75,000 for one of their one-of-a-kind Sirius Star Canadian diamonds
- The brand is the first retailer in Canada to become accredited under the SCS 007 Sustainability Rated Diamond Standard for Trial Use
- FTJCo is approved to sell and fully represent Certified Sustainability Rated Diamonds online as well as in its retail studio in Toronto
- The brand’s AKARA People+Planet® gold combines Fairmined certified gold with Recycled gold for a unique alloy that offers both social and environmental benefits
- FTJCo is committed to reusing existing gems and diamonds if they are in good condition, and put the value of old gold towards a new piece of gold or platinum jewelry
Vanessa Lianne
Vanessa Lianne is a jewelry brand that hand-forges each piece in her Brooklyn studio. The brand’s collection, described as “delicate armor,” becomes a native extension of the woman who wears them. Vanessa Lianne is dedicated to using sustainable and ethical practices and materials, with metals being 100% recycled, all natural stones ethically sourced, and diamonds reclaimed and sourced through vendors that adhere to the Kimberly process.
Price Range: ranges from around $695 – $6,800
Key Sustainable Features: ranges from around $695 to $6,800
- Vanessa Lianne uses 100% recycled metals, ethically sourced natural stones, and reclaimed diamonds
- The brand adheres to the Kimberly process for sourcing diamonds
- Vanessa Lianne is committed to using sustainable and ethical practices and materials
- The brand’s jewelry is hand-forged in her Brooklyn studio, emphasizing craftsmanship
Mejuri
Mejuri, founded in 2015, is revolutionizing the fine jewelry industry by making luxury accessible for everyday wear. The brand’s core philosophy is to create high-quality, responsibly-sourced pieces designed to last a lifetime. Mejuri is committed to sustainability and making a positive impact in the jewelry industry and the world.
Price Range: Mejuri offers a wide range of prices, with items available under $150 and over $500
Key Sustainable Features:
- Certified by the Responsible Jewelry Council (RJC): Mejuri is certified by the RJC, ensuring that their fine jewelry is made with responsibly sourced or recycled gold
- Committed to Traceability: By 2030, Mejuri aims to achieve 100% traceability of precious materials, educating customers about the origins of their responsibly sourced products
- Promotes Circularity: Mejuri is working towards designing products and packaging with their full lifecycle in mind, creating circular pathways such as repair, resale, and recycling
- Supports Underrepresented Communities: Mejuri is committed to supporting underrepresented people in their community, helping them achieve their goals through education, upskilling, and advocacy
- Adheres to Ethical Practices: Mejuri ensures ethical practices in its manufacturing process, including the prohibition of child or forced labor, and the use of conflict-free diamonds certified via the Kimberly Process
Explore Sustainability Certifications and Standards for the Jewelry Industry
- RJC Code of Practices Standard (COP): A comprehensive industry standard that covers the entire jewellery and watch supply chain, promoting responsible business practices.
- RJC Chain of Custody Standard (CoC): Ensures transparency and trust in the jewellery and watch industry by certifying the sourcing, tracing, and processing of products and materials.
- Fairtrade Gold: Supports small-scale mining cooperatives to improve their situation, ensuring gold is sourced, traced, and processed responsibly.
- Fairmined Gold: Connects certified responsible mines with gold buyers, providing a source of responsibly sourced gold.
- SCS 007 Sustainable Jewelry Standard: A comprehensive sustainability standard for the diamond sector, setting benchmarks for performance and transparency.
- Fairmined Standard: Supports the sustainable development of artisanal and small-scale mining organizations, used as a market tool for ethically produced minerals.
- ISO/TC 174: Standardizes aspects of jewellery and precious metals, including numbering system, sizes of rings, precious metals colours and coatings, diamonds, analyses, sampling, and impurities.
- Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Certification: An international certification system promoting responsible management of the world’s forests.
- CRAFT Code: A standard aiding artisanal and small-scale miners in responsible practices and access to formal markets, focusing on due diligence and continuous improvement.
- Council for Responsible Jewellery Practices Recycled Metals Certification: Governed by the Responsible Jewellery Council, this certification ensures ethical, social, and environmental responsibility across the jewelry supply chain. More details are available on the Responsible Jewellery Council website.
- Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KPCS): A global initiative uniting governments, industry, and civil societies to stop conflict diamonds, ensuring diamonds traded are conflict-free.
