Are Lab grown diamonds ethical?
Lab-grown diamonds (LGD) are diamonds that have been created in a lab as opposed to mined from the earth and they have come onto the market in the last 10-15 years. Lab-grown diamond sellers are always very keen to market their product as an ‘ethical choice’ and ‘conflict-free’ however this doesn’t tell the whole story, are Lab-grown diamonds really an ethical choice?
The reductive narrative of Lab Grown diamonds
The message from many LGD sellers and producers is that Lab-grown diamonds = Good and Mined diamonds = bad. They frequently cite the failings of mined diamonds and treat mined diamonds as a single product group with uniform effects and processes.
It’s true that a mined diamond can come from a large mine that has a significant environmental impact however it’s also possible its come from a small scale mine which is a lifeline to impoverished communities and has very limited impact on the environment.
It’s key to the Lab-grown diamond sellers that in the mind of the consumer all mined diamonds are bad which simply isn’t the case.
Lab-grown conflict diamonds
As we pointed out in our article, Lab-grown conflict diamonds, some lab-grown diamonds are used to guide hypersonic weapons. This seems to directly contradict the ‘conflict-free’ narrative that’s peddled.
To date, there is no evidence that the funds from lab-grown diamond sales have, or are being used to fund conflict.
Environmental damage caused by lab-grown diamonds
The process of making diamonds in a lab requires a lot of energy and the industry has a significant carbon footprint. Some mined diamonds also have a large carbon footprint however some have virtually none, a fact that LGD producers deliberately fail to communicate.
If you want to make the best environmental choice when buying a diamond then buying a pre-owned stone is the best choice, though its impossible to know the original conditions under which the diamond was mined.
Demonizing small scale miners
Small scale artisanal mines account for a significant percentage of worldwide diamond mining. These mines are often very basic and the income they provide is vital to supporting and developing communities in some of the poorest countries in the world.
Lab-grown diamond sellers and producers consistently demonize diamond miners and use the past suffering of people in countries that were affected by wars funded by conflict diamonds.
Whilst it is absolutely true that many people have suffered because of wars that were funded in part by diamonds, some people now benefit from the income diamond sales bring. No small scale miner in Sierra Leone, Angola or The DRC has benefited from the creation of Lab Grown diamonds.