Ethical jewellery by Sophie Harley at CRED

“In America, it’s bling bling. But out here it’s bling bang.”
Danny Archer (Leo DiCaprio) in Blood Diamond

It’s coming up to Valentines day and I, for one, have already been dropping jewellery hints (although I think I’m more likely to be given another mushroom-growing kit).

Most ethical fashionistas regard jewellery as a way to change your outfit without having to buy new clothes. That may not be you and you might prefer to wear the same pieces all the time but still, there’s no denying that jewellery has a fascination whether you’re a Masaai warrior or a Mancunian.

However, some would argue that mined jewellery – gold, silver, stones – can never be ethical simply because it’s dug from the ground. Even if you’re not that hardcore there are a wealth of problems associated with jewellery from ecological damage to child labour and human rights abuses.

According to Oxfam’s latest report, Dirty Metals: Mining, communities and the environment, mining uses 10% of the world’s energy as well as producing arsenic emissions and giving rise to cyanide and mercury poisoning.

Recently there has been a greater focus on gold and diamonds. As journalist, Maddy Bowen in the movie Blood Diamond says, “The people back home wouldn’t buy a ring if they knew it cost someone else their hand.” Well, let’s hope not, given that the sale of blood-spattered diamonds still continues today in spite of the largely toothless Kimberly Process, set in place in 2000 to regulate the trade in diamonds in conflict zones. The situation is beginning to change though: US giant, Walmart, aims to track its jewellery so that by this year at least 10% will come from mines run in a socially responsible manner.

For more thoroughly ethical bling, try Ascension (www.ascensiononline.com) and People Tree (www.peopletree.co.uk) . Two fantastic designers are Made, who uses independent artisans and Fifi Bijoux (www.fifibijoux.com), whose gold and silver come from small co-operatives in South America. You could also try buying vintage, going to charity shops or supporting local artists by taking a look at the jewellery for sale at Etsy (www.etsy.com).