Editor’s Note
This excerpt from a larger article examines the complex reality behind “ethical” gold, tracing its journey from mining communities to consumer products. It highlights the disconnect between well-intentioned consumer choices and the often opaque supply chains that can undermine their impact.
The Journey of “Ethical” Gold
Once there, it gets processed and transformed into “recycled gold” and shipped to GDL refiners, who sell it to banks and jewelers.
“When my husband and I made our rings, we were not legally allowed to extract the gold we used or even to buy it directly from Marmato’s miners. Instead, to be ‘ethical’ consumers, we were supposed to buy the rings in a jewelry shop where the gold should have come from a GDL-certified refinery that very well might have sourced it as ‘recycled’ from a refinery in the United Arab Emirates.”
