Throughout history, jewelry has held a special place in the fabric of human culture. Unfortunately, industrial methods of extracting jewelry’s precious metals and gems from the earth damage the land and endanger ecosystems. Further, industrial values frequently reduce the labor component of production to the level of a cog in a machine.

Because of the cultural importance of jewelry, it is impractical to impose an end to its use. Efforts to create startling change rarely achieve significant impact. Long-term progress is realized when consumers internalize new values and infuse them into custom.

Our greater goal at greenKarat is to end destructive gold and diamond mining. We do not, however, strive to force that change through radical activism. While activist organizations play a critically important role in educating and motivating consumers, we believe that widespread and permanent change will ultimately occur through the voice of consumer buying decisions.

Our mission is to provide an ecologically and socially responsible jewelry alternative to those who seek change. We want to help you, in some small way, become part of the permanent solution. Together we can make a difference.

Effecting Change Through Recycled Gold

Gold is a very versatile metal. It is malleable and ductile. It’s a good conductor of heat and electricity, immune to tarnish, and resistant to acids. Although these properties make it very useful in industrial applications, 80% of the gold used each year nonetheless goes into jewelry.

While gold is valuable enough to provide an incentive to recycle, significant amounts of gold sit idle, while mining continues at a pace of 2,500 tons a year. In fact, there is enough gold above ground (already mined) to satisfy all demands of the jewelry industry for the next 50 years. Much of it sits in bank vaults and in the form of old and unused jewelry.

greenKarat believes that consumers have the ability to demand the liberation of that idle gold through their purchasing decisions. Demand for recycled gold, in conjunction with campaigns to clamp down on ecologically and socially unacceptable mining, holds the potential to effect change. Because this methodology helps societal custom work in concert with principles of commerce, it can be embraced by consumers and producers alike, and therefore result in sustainable change.

Buying recycled gold is one of the most ecologically and socially responsible choices a consumer can make. Thank you for considering greenKarat when you make that choice.