This has been something that has concerned me for a long time... it's not only the child labour that is a worry, it's also that the sale of precious and semi-precious stones is being used to fund terrorist activities and civil wars.
They've been trying to promote the sale of ethically-mined diamonds for years now because of this, (they are called Kimberly diamonds, and come with a certificate saying that they don't come from a 'conflict' area). Non-Kimberly diamonds are becoming known as Blood diamonds, because they are sold so that war-torn countries can buy more guns and weapons. (and the largest producer of amethysts is Afghanistan...
... one of the most popular of the 'New Age' crystals.)
I've cut back quite a bit on the gemstones I buy... not easy, because I do love them so!
but at the moment, the three I have that are the most powerful are three pieces of quartz that I picked up myself from different mountains that have deep meanings for me.
I am making more of an effort to use stones that I find myself- I feel that if the Earth gifts it to me herself, then the energy of that stone will resonate more happily for me... rather than if it was dug out of the ground by a child being used as a slave.
I love labradorite, which is SUPPOSED to come from Canada, (hence 'Labrador')... but when I actually emailed a gemstone site in that country, they couldn't say for a fact where their labradorite came from... but it was likely that it could come from Madagascar, which according to Amnesty International...
"The turbulence which has characterized the political situation in Madagascar in the past months has unleashed a wave of human rights violations which the outside world has largely ignored," the organization said.
This is a website with an article about the problem... things ain't going to change unless people stop buying them, unfortunately.
http://www.gemland.com/gemstories/gemstory15.htm
elnor