Let's say you go and buy a diamond in a random local jeweler (or even well established brand), then I doubt all of diamonds available for purchase will actually be certified regarding where a diamond comes from, which mine etc. because not only they would rather not tell you or first and foremost, they do not know because it is a very sophisticated process to track the origin of a diamond (supply chain).
Moreover, beyond tackling human rights; work conditions should be also be monitored and this apply to every companies. By this I mean kids working in mines, or work conditions such as forced labor. This is not only important for the Diamond industry, which was highly criticized and publicized internationally, but also regarding how garment, food, and barely all other products are produced. We can broaden this issue to every multinational company which practices are more or less “good” ethically.
Coming back to the Diamond industry, let's state it simply, customers do not know exactly what kind of products they buy and they often would rather know nothing about it.
The Kimberley process is a code for states, assuming every state is able to stringently track the origin of diamonds. There are some good examples of implementation of this code nationally such as the Canadian diamond code of conduct in Canada.
Being an enlightened consumer is clearly a difficult endeavor. However an enlightened demand could radically change corporate behavior.
« return.