What are the ethical issues in the jewellery industry?

The issues with the jewellery supply chain fall into three main categories.

  • The exploitation of workers and human rights abuses

  • Environmental damage

  • Funding Conflict

To know more about these, we need to know a little bit about the jewellery supply chain. Let’s take a gold ring for example. We’ll walk you through the supply chain and then gives some examples of where these issues may arise.

  1. The gold is mined out of the ground

  2. The gold is exported to the manufacturing country 

  3. The gold is made into jewellery

  4. The gold jewellery is sold to a jewellery shop

  5. The jewellery is sold to the public


Please note this is a very simplified version of the process, (we’re working on the long version)


The first step, mining is where a lot of the issues arise.  Not all gold mines are the same; some are very safe and well run, but many, often in poor countries, are very dangerous places to work and the pay is very low.  Workers will work in them because they have little choice as there are no other jobs available, and serious injuries and death are common, as is child labour. In the worst cases, people are forced to work in mines with no pay or to pay off debts.

Gold mining can also be very damaging for the environment, as well as the physical impact of the Earth being moved, the use of chemicals, explosives, water, and machinery, which can put a strain of resources, contaminate landscapes, and add carbon and other pollutants into the atmosphere.

If the mine is in a location where there is conflict or war, the proceeds from the mining may be used to buy weapons, machinery, and to pay soldiers in order to keep the conflict going.

It is because so many issues with the supply chain begin with the mining of the materials that many of the initiatives within the jewellery industry have been focused on this, for instance Fairmined and Fairtrade gold.