Eco friendly jewelry makes for sensible environmentally friendly gifts to family, friends and colleagues. As the holiday giving season approaches it is helpful to understand what actually is considered “ecologically friendly” if you are giving jewelry as a gift. A lot of jewelry uses environmentally unsustainable and unfriendly manufacturing processes. The production of gold, for example, is destructive to the environment in terms of the strip mining extraction methods used to harvest it as well as the chemicals that are used to process it, like cyanide.

Generally speaking you should look for jewelry products that use conflict-free diamonds, fair trade colored and produced gemstones, and environmentally friendly gold and platinum. In addition, jewelry made with an awareness of the environment often uses reclaimed woods, reprocessed metals, and recycled materials, such as glass and plastics. All of these materials minimize impact to the environment.

Here are some of the primary materials you should look for when selecting true, eco friendly jewelry:

Recycled Materials

Glass, metals, wood, and even plastics are all used in recycled jewelry. Generally speaking, jewelry products made with this materials will promote this fact as they are small scale in production and typically made by local artisans or very small businesses. Part of the cachet of this type of gift is the challenge of using an existing material but in a recycled format, something the producer is proud of and will let you know through their marketing process.

Reclaimed

Metals are typically reclaimed from other uses and often used in this type of jewelry production. Metals often require some additional processing to be used in a recycled manner. That may include cleaning the material or reheating and then shaping it into a form the artist or producer prefers. In most cases these processes have minimal to no impact on the environment, but it is worth asking if it is not mentioned on a tag or product description. Wood, including trees and branches that naturally fall to the forest floor, can also be considered “reclaimed”.

Conflict Free and Sustainable Gemstones

Although not necessarily a recycled material, conflict free gemstones are becoming increasingly important to consumers seeking eco friendly jewelry. Look for fair trade and sustainable production and extraction or processing standards as they represent a humane and non destructive approach to the environment. Unfortunately diamonds, even conflict free sources from Canada, carry a significant environmental impact. Going with a lab created diamond or gemstone is both sustainable and a good environmental practice.

As the holiday giving season approaches it is possible to find and confidently give eco friendly jewelry, just make sure to ask a few questions. It’s the sensible thing to do for those you are giving too, as well as for the environment.