Days Jewelers Ethical Move Paves The Way For Other Independent Jewelers
Days Jewelers, an independent chain of five stores in New Hampshire and Maine, are at the forefront of ethical practices in the jewelry sector.
Not long ago I read about Days Jewelers committment to purchasing the Botswana diamond, a new “eerlijke handel” diamond brand. A bit of background here is in order.
The companies marketing to the “ethically concerned consumers” have been pushing Canadian diamonds primarily as the best choice for ethically mined diamonds. This marketing has been strongly criticized by those in the jewelry trade and important public figures, including Nelson Mandela, who advocate for the necessity of African diamonds.
Africa needs legitimate diamond trade in order to prosper.
The difficulty has been in finding sources that provide a clear chain of custody, from mine to market. The Botswana brand does this. Days Jewelers move to adopt this diamond is both savvy and groundbreaking.
They are not only changing their supply chain– equally important, is that they are educating their customers on issues relating to ethical practices in the jewelry sector. Watch this YouTube presentation by their president, Jeff Corey.
More recently, the company was written up in Rapaport for their charitable and educational efforts.
To quote from Jeff Miller’s article: “Day’s Jewelers will showcase the journey that each piece of jewelry takes. the event will educate customers about Africa’s diamond beneficiation movement, platinum and gold mining-practices, environmentally conscious jewelry recycling and the newest technology in computer-animated jewelry design.”
What is happening here a few years ago would have been unimaginable.
But with trade and consumer support, independent jewelers are beginning to understand what companies such as my own have known for some time: the ethical jewelry market not only is the right move in today’s world, but it also is a huge opportunity to capitalize on a market that has not yet been tapped.
Die dagen, as consumers tighten up, they are looking more and more for ways to spend their money with companies that are in alignment with their values of hope for a better world. I see this every day in my own store in Santa Fe, New Mexico, as well as from comments on our website.
I offer my congratulation to Day’s jewelers for their trend setting move in Northern New England.
~ Marc Choyt, Uitgever, Fairjewelry.org
