Respect for human rights and the environment in the mining and processing processes is not limited to diamonds. In fact, more and more people sensitive to these issues are seeking products that adhere to the principle "what you love shouldn't hurt anyone."
Even for colored gemstones, a sustainable, responsible, and ethical value chain is increasingly needed to help consumers make their purchasing decisions. Companies operating in this sector face several challenges in certifying a gemstone as conflict-free, meaning it comes from places not involved in child labor, forced labor, or modern slavery, war economies, armed conflicts, or terrorism, or that finance criminal networks.
All of this requires greater attention not only from luxury jewelry companies, which already offer sustainable and fair trade jewelry, but also from all companies that purchase raw materials from countries where these values are not yet respected, where too often economic convenience alone determines the origin.
OpaleMio mainly offers Australian opals that are fully considered ethical opals or ethical gems.
Furthermore, most of the opals for sale in our OpaleMio shop are personally cut and polished by Alessandro in our laboratory in Italy, thus avoiding the possibility of child labor being used.
We personally know most of our suppliers and the mines from which the opals we sell come. For Australian opals, strict state regulations impose safety regulations in mines and the restoration of open-pit mines. Furthermore, no chemicals harmful to humans or the environment are used in the extraction of opal.
We intend to continue along this path in the future and ensure, whenever possible, that the gems we sell are ethically sourced and responsibly mined.
Each of our choices matters. We can all contribute to creating a better world by choosing an ethical gemstone.
