Diamonds still not ok for green wedding rings
May 2, 2009 by Jennifer
Last year in the green wedding ring guide we looked in-depth at why diamonds are one of the worst choices for green weddings. Nothing has changed in a year by the way. Diamonds are still not eco-friendly, and worse, they’re not human-friendly either.
“Some diamonds have helped fund devastating civil wars in Africa, destroying the lives of millions. Conflict diamonds are those sold in order to fund armed conflict and civil war. Profits from the trade in conflict diamonds, worth billions of dollars, were used by warlords and rebels to buy arms during the devastating wars in Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Sierra Leone. Wars that have cost an estimated 3.7 million lives.”
And if you think you can find conflict-free diamonds, you’re wrong. It’s hard to prove that there are any actual conflict-free diamonds. Add to that the fact that diamond mining is very damaging to the planet, and diamonds just look less and less like a tree hugging girl’s best friend.
If you must have a diamond make sure it comes with a diamond origin certification, buy a recycled diamond ring, or consider a lab produced diamond.
Other general green wedding ring tips:
- Look for rings with recycled metals and gems.
- Consider getting just one ring each – do you really need both an engagement ring and a wedding ring?
- Go Fair Trade when it comes to colored gemstones.
- Shop at estate sales, antique shops, or vintage ring shops for a ring.
- Go with a non-traditional material like a wooden wedding ring.
- Wear a piece that’s been in your family for a long while. The Knot has a great guide on how to update an heirloom ring, so if your family has a ring for you, or you find one at an antique shop, but you don’t totally love it, you can fix it.
- Only buy recycled gold, if you go with a gold ring. New gold mining is terribly harmful to the planet.
- Skip the traditional ring and get a tattoo. Although, be aware, tattoos aren’t that eco-friendly either, maybe a little more so than diamonds though.
Also read:
Reader Question: Toss or Keep Non-Green Wedding Rings?
Coming up some green wedding ring choices.
Are you getting married? What sort of rings have you been looking at?
[image via stock.xchng]
When I got married about a year and a half ago I didn’t really know about diamonds being bad. I now have 2 small diamond rings (engagement and wedding) I feel really guilty about having them, and know that getting rid of them won’t really make things better. What can I do about the fact that I already have diamonds to help the earth, or at least the people involved?
Later this week, I’ll post an answer to your question as part of the reader’s green question series – because I know more people want to know this sort of thing. I’ve gotten a lot of email about it. I did cover this partly, in the post http://www.treehuggingfamily.com/reader-question-toss-or-keep-non-green-wedding-rings/ but maybe there’s another way to offset as well.