How do suppliers source their stones?

Little Hare

Does anyone know where these websites source their stones from? I always get worried when i buy crystals that some poor child was used to dig stones out
 

raeanne

Hi peace_pixie,
Which websites are you asking about? You would need to do some research on the specific company to find out if they use child labor or not.
 

wumpkie

The website I use has information pages where it shows you the information and some pictures. It may well come under the terms and conditions parts of other sites. One site (www.holisticshop.co.uk) has it under the 'About Us' page. So hopefully other sites will follow similar practises.

Wumpkie
 

Little Hare

Hi Raeanne,

This was originally written in another thread but marion decide to split it off and make it its own topic the websites i am talking about are from the following thread 'Trusted Gem Websites' http://www.tarotforum.net/showthread.php?t=81469

Oh and thank you Wumpkie :) If i'm ordering on-line (which i don't generally do) i'll definatly do what you suggested
 

Mi-Shell

peace_pixie said:
Does anyone know where these websites source their stones from? I always get worried when i buy crystals that some poor child was used to dig stones out


Unfortunately you are qite right there.
Most dealers buy wholesale from large mineral and mining companies, bags by the pound and kilo. The most mines in India, Russia, SA and Brazil not only use child labour but also the ones that sort, tumble and work the stone are children. - small hands!!!
Diamonds, rubies emeralds and so on are facetted (sp??) by kids on primitive stonewheels - no protecton -most everywhere.
It is sad.
 

Little Hare

God Mi-Shell that breaks my heart. I Love my crystals so much and where i buy most of them from at my local metaphysical shop he gets them from brazil. Occasionally he gets some pieces from mines in Western Australia. Well that's it i'm putting a hold on my crystal collection untill I can source where they come from.

This is one pixie that does not support child labor.

I encourage you all to do the same

:heart:
 

Elnor

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...:neutral:... 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! :shhh:
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