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Our 14k Fairmined Gold is the leading industry sustainable and ethical gold choice. our gold is only from responsible Artisanal and Small-scale Mining (ASM). It is backed by a rigorous 3rd party certification and audit system that ensures that small entrepreneurial mining communities meet world leading standards for responsible practices. Fairmined transforms mining into an active force for good, delivering social development and environmental protection, providing everyone with a source of gold they can be proud of. While recycling gold may seem like a sustainable and ethical option for gold, it actually fails provide a solution for how the majority of the gold in the world is obtained. Buying fairmined gold helps to invest in the social, economic and environmentally sustainable development of miners, their families, workers and the community.
Every piece is cast from 100% Fairmined gold. The components of our jewelry that aren't available in fairmined like earring posts and earring backs are made from conventional gold or certified recycled gold whenever possible.
We are proud to partner with WD Lab Grown diamonds, the world's first sustainably rated 100% climate neutral diamond. WD lab grown diamonds are 3rd party certified by SCS Global Services under the SCS-007 Standard. These premium diamonds are rated on a rigorous set of criteria that covers verified origin, ethical stewardship, carbon emissions (past and present) as well as important sustainability investments. In addition to achieving the highest sustainability ranking according to SCS Global Services, WD has achieved the 5th C: Climate Neutrality, a new level of excellence in the diamond industry above and beyond the traditional 4Cs.
Founded in 2008, WD is an authoritative leader in the industry and the exclusive licensee of a portfolio of patents covering Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) diamond growth technology developed by The Carnegie Institution of Washington. Their proprietary patented crystal growth technology enables them to create diamonds that are brilliantly As Grown, with no post-growth enhancements, and are classified at the highest level of purity, Type IIA, a designation given to only 1-2% of all natural diamonds. Valley Rose is honored to be among the first Accredited Retailers under the SCS-007 Standard, the world's most stringent benchmark of sustainability accountability, and the first certification assessing natural and laboratory grown diamonds. Through the standard's Chain of Custody provisions, each diamond's origin is guaranteed with 99% accuracy.
Please be aware that only our .08+ Ct lab grown diamonds are certified sustainable and all melee lab grown diamonds are conventional lab grown.
View SCS-007 Sustainably Rated Diamond Accreditation >
We have a variety of sourcing methods for our earth mined gemstones and continue to audit and improve upon our supply chain as the industry evolves. Stones like our sapphires and some rustic diamonds come from small scale artisanal mines with primitive mining equipment. These mines are small businesses rather than giant corporations, and are most often family owned and operated making them traceable and low environmental impact. Other sources of our gemstones are certified recycled or certified Canadian.
We don’t believe in the Kimberly process as it hasn’t proven to eradicate the issues within the gemstone industry and the likelihood of blood diamonds through Kimberly process is still very high. Instead we are forging relationships with suppliers that are working directly with the miners and cutters and improving the industry for the better. Currently there is no reliable certification process for ethically mined gemstones. We are keeping an eye on some promising programs that are in development and hope to work with them in the near future.
Conflict-free is a term that refers to gemstones that are not used to finance a civil war. However there are many other serious issues that plague the gemstone industry like slavery, forced labor, dangerous working conditions, child labor, and environmental damage. So saying a gemstone is conflict-free is essentially sweeping under the rug all the other terrible issues that need to be addressed.
The supply chain has a lot of bad actors making programs like the Kimberly Process vulnerable to corruption. Extra care and research needs to go into sourcing precious gemstones and it is an ever evolving situation. The awareness of these issues are an important first step and eventually it is our hope that the popular demand for ethical traceable gems will help to eradicate devastating practices and ensure we know our gemstones are being mined in an equitable way that benefits everyone and not just the top 1%.
At the heart of our business is our commitment to causes that further intersectional environmentalism. Our current initiative focuses on allocating 1% of sales to tree planting through onetreeplanted.org, and another 1% of sales to Gem Legacy a nonprofit whose vision is to create thriving colored gemstone mining communities. Donations go towards giving vulnerable gem stone miners support for growth and success in all aspects of their community like: education, health, tools, training, and more.
We use recycled post consumer paper or compostable materials for all our packaging including our paper packing tape, recycled shipping boxes, compostable and plastic-free shipping postage labels, recycled tissue paper, and recycled paper card inserts. Our custom jewelry gift boxes are made of virgin paperboard with polyester suede lining however, they are high quality and are made to save as a storage box. We are working on a lower impact solution for our jewelry gift boxes as our production volume increases.