Amina Egwuatu is a Nigerian gemologist and owner of Mina Stones, a vertically-integrated social business founded in 2011. The brand name comes from her Hausa name “Amina,” meaning “Trustworthy and Honest,” after Queen Amina of Zazzau.

What are your wishes for the jewelry world for the year 2021?

We posed these questions to people in different corners of the world; their answers are below. Full disclosure for the sake of transparency: several are on the board of directors or advisory council of Ethical Metalsmiths.

What does the word “sustainable” mean in the context of jewelry?

Do we mean a thriving jewelry business, one that we hope will endure for generations to come? Do we mean that miners, their families and communities will have jobs indefinitely, based on their own country’s natural resources?

The answer is...actually quite a lot. There isn't a single facet of the jewelry industry that doesn't tie into the UN SDGs.

There isn't a single facet of the jewelry industry that doesn't tie into the UN SDGs. The Sustainable Development Goals, or “SDGs”, were developed by the UN in 2015 as part of Agenda 30 to guide nations, policy, NGOs, and funding through 2030.

Completely cleansing the global diamond industry of blood, corruption, and conflict is no easy feat, and few are more familiar with this challenge than Ian Smillie.

A founding participant in the creation of the Kimberley Process (KP), Smillie currently chairs the Diamond Development Initiative (DDI), a conflict-prevention initiative that brings together non-government organizations (NGOs), governments, and the private sector to help formalize and improve social and economic conditions in the artisanal diamond mining sector.

Columbia Gem House generously provided gemstones to 25 designers who will contribute their time and metalsmithing skills to the cause - Ethical in Action.

Rachel Hill is owner of Americut Gems, a gemstone company whose “All-American Sapphires” are 100% mined, cut, and polished in America. Americut Gems is the only company in the United States that is commercially producing precision cut and polished Montana sapphires in all sizes.

Earlier this year, I did something I previously found unthinkable as a small business owner and content creator: I decided to pause all of my social media advertising. I typically write about issues related to the extraction of our raw materials from the Earth and international initiatives related to responsible mining.

When we think about ethics and sustainability in relation to jewelry making and metalsmithing, our first thoughts are often about the material choices we make in the studio.

Today’s jeweler will likely encounter a pickle agent based on sodium bisulfate or a similar and equally harsh chemical. Although I am not a chemist, it seems that when water is added to sodium bisulfate and the solution is heated, acidic fumes can be released.

Robin Gambhir is Fair Trade Jewellery Co.'s (FTJCo) co-founder and manages finance, governance, technology and sourcing. Robin’s varied experience ranges from working as a software developer with Apple, to a writer for the National Post newspaper.

It was a weekend of incredible firsts for me: I met chiefs from different corners of the Amazon rainforest, I went to workshops with Tanzanian miners and I saw tech companies offering solutions that would further connect industry leaders to small business owners and miners.

EM deeply cares about justice in the jewelry industry - and that includes justice and equal opportunity for Black and Indigenous People Of Color (BIPOC) jewelry designers, makers, and retailers.

As events unfolded around us, we became aware that jewelry was the perfect medium for communication during this unique moment in human history.

To most people, the word “recycled” conjures the notion that the thing - in this case, the gold - has been used before, and is now being presented in its re-utilized state.

These questions posed by Brian Cook, founder of Nature's Geometry, are central to how sustainable the jewelry industry will be in the future.

Conversations with Christina T. Miller Sustainable Jewelry Consulting and investor and partner with Better Without Mercury, a project to eliminate mercury pollution at an artisanal gold mine in Colombia.