Any debate surrounding the ethics of jewellery is one that interests us, but one that everyone keeps coming back to is around the pros and cons of natural vs synthetic diamonds. There have been advances in technology and improvements in companies’ attitudes to their social responsibility on both sides of the debate, so… has anything really changed?!
Any mining is dirty. Digging up land is hard work, and when the miners are unregulated it can be particularly dangerous to both people and the environment. Diamond mining has been used to fund wars that have killed millions over the years. Large scale mines can afford to invest more in protecting their workers and the environment, but leave scars on the landscape that are hard to ignore.