Ethical bling? A golden opportunity

According to campaigners for "ethical bling", the wedding rings exchanged in the UK alone in a single year are produced using three-quarters of a million tonnes of poisons, mainly cyanide and mercury. "I didn't really know about some of the things that happen in the jewelery trade. People buy without thinking."

THINK. ACT. NOW.

In addition to the environmental damage and risk to health caused by such practices, thousands of the world's poorest people have been forced from their homes to make way for mines.

THINK. ACT. NOW.

Vivien Johnston, who is setting up the British Ethical Jewellery Association, said jewellers were flocking to the cause, with close to 300 asking to become members. "There's quite a demand for membership. We haven't even been actively looking for any," she said. "I don't know what the response will be like when we really advertise."

Ms Johnston runs her own jewellery business, Fifi Bijoux, in Glasgow, sourcing her gold directly from mines run by collectives such as Ora Verde in Colombia and Eco Andina in Argentina. She has seen sales triple since 2006.

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