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Mar 28, 2008 2:39 pm US/Eastern
Green Scene: Greener Gold
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3) ―
Usually when you think of green gold, you think of a cheap knockoff that stained your finger. But "green gold" is a new concept -- a more environmentally friendly way to mine gold and make jewelry. And people are buying it.
When Carla and Ryan Lents got married, they didn't buy new rings. They had family rings melted down and made into wedding bands.
"That they're created in an environmentally-friendly way makes them more special," said Carla.
Mining gold, like all mining, changes the landscape. And chemicals are often used in the extraction process.
Scott Cardiff is with the No Dirty Gold Campaign.
"Twenty tons of waste are generated by the production of one gold ring," said Cardiff.
The No Dirty Gold Campaign is asking the industry for tougher environmental standards, and for certification of green gold "so that when you go to a jewelry store and want more ethical jewelry, they can actually say, 'Here's our certification that we are actually sourcing from a more responsible mine,'" said Cardiff.
The World Gold Council disagrees with that 20 tons figure. But it says, its member mines work hard to be greener.
"Most members of the World Gold Council, for example, already have in place very well-documented codes of practices and principles," said George Milling-Stanley of the World Gold Council.
If greener gold interests you, many neighborhood jewelers can take old gold and make new pieces. So can GreenKarat.com, an online jeweler. It doesn't even matter what color gold you recycle.
"We take out all the alloys, which is what lends color to gold. Depending upon whether you want white gold or yellow gold or rose gold, we will add fresh alloys and make brand new pieces," said Matthew White of GreenKarat.
And you can ask your jeweler if it supports the No Dirty Gold Campaign.
RELATED LINKSNo Dirty Gold Campaign:
http://www.nodirtygold.orgA list of retailers supporting the No Dirty Gold Campaign:
http://www.nodirtygold.org/supporting_retailers.cfmWorld Gold Council:
http://www.trustingold.com/GreenKarat:
http://www.greenkarat.com
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