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Eco-Friendly Diamonds: How Lab-Grown is Turning The Industry Green

You can be stylish and save the Earth with eco-friendly lab-grown diamonds. A better alternative to mined diamonds with more benefits for you and the environment.

Sep 03, 2021 | By luxuo
diamond wedding rings
Did you know you can be eco friendly with your jewellery? Image: Clean Origin

When one thinks of “eco-friendly” most people think of using less single-use plastic cups or plastic straws, but there are more ways to go green beyond the everyday use of straws and coffee cups.

What most people probably don’t think about is opting for sustainable jewellery. With climate change and global warming on the rise, more Millennials and Gen Z are looking for sustainable and ethical options and this has forced most consumers, if not all, to focus on being more environmentally friendly, in an effort to save the planet and its future.

Lab-grown diamonds are the optimal choice for the environmentally savvy consumer looking to purchase some gems.

diamond engagement ring
Ethical and sustainable diamond ring, “grown” in a lab. Image: Clean Origin

Sometimes referred to as synthetic diamonds, lab-grown diamonds are man-made diamonds “grown” inside a lab using technology that replaces the diamond mining process. This eco-friendly approach and also ethical solution result in a diamond that involves zero exploitation of workers and has the same chemical make-up as those that have been mined.

Sustainability sells as it’s not only becoming a big trend in the market, and shoppers not only are looking for good quality products, but they’re also looking for brands that align with their personal values as well. This means, with more eco-friendly consumers means more demand for brands to be mindful of the environment as well.

Diamond mining is also extremely harmful to the environment. Flooding, drought, soil erosion, and deforestation are some examples of the negative impacts of diamond mining.

Aside from environmental concerns, another worry about purchasing diamonds is the ethical issues surrounding diamond mining. The exploitation of workers has caused widespread poverty and suffering in Africa, and they work in highly unsafe environments without the proper safety, training, or tools. Children are also commonly forced into labour for diamond mining.

diamond ring gold wedding band
Image: Clean Origin

Most workers are even paid less than a dollar a day, for their efforts. Most of them in the region often turn to such work as it’s the only opportunity presented to them to survive. Such stories of diamond miners are reasons why people are choosing to stay away from conflict diamonds. It has also been more than a decade since the US has banned conflict diamonds.

Some consumers might have questions on whether lab-grown diamonds are real diamonds, and the answer is yes. The only difference being the way the diamonds are produced; you practically can’t spot the difference between wedding bands with a manufactured diamond or a real one.

Vintage-style engagement rings are all the rage now and you can pop the question with a ring fitted with a lab-grown diamond — away from the controversial trade of diamonds and do your part to save the Earth.


 
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