Eco Friendly Wedding Rings
and
Engagement Rings

# 2 Eco Friendly Rings

If you would like eco friendly wedding rings created just for you and your partner, recycled metals is the way to go. Some couples like to use jewelry they already own and have the jewelry melted down and then crafted into rings; however, only specialized jewelers have the ability to do this, so it might take some searching around to find a local jeweler who can accomplish this task.

Another choice is to purchase environmentally friendly wedding rings from a company which crafts the rings out of recycled metals, used gemstones, and fair trade gemstones.

For eco friendly diamond rings, excellent options include Man-Made Diamonds such as synthetic laboratory created diamonds and diamond simulants. Rings crafted with man-made diamonds, and recycled metals, will provide you with the most eco friendly choice for new diamond wedding rings.

# 3 Eco Friendly Rings

Look for companies which use fair trade labor practices in addition to low impact mining methods which do not produce as much waste as traditional mines. Keep in mind though, that any new ring using recently mined metals is going to have some cost to the environment. Take a look at the No Dirty Gold site as well to see how popular jewelry companies measure up to low-impact green jewelry standards and to check if a retailer you are interested in has a passing grade for eco friendly ethics.

Wedding Ring Metals and Environmental Impacts

By far, the metals which have the highest environmental cost are gold, palladium, and platinum. One ounce of mined gold can produce over 20 tons of waste; palladium and platinum mines produce extremely large amounts of waste as well. Around the world every country is dealing with hazardous wastes left over from these mines, including the United States. If you want an eco friendly gold, platinum, or palladium ring, consider purchasing used wedding rings or recycled wedding rings.

Tungsten and titanium mining methods also have an impact on the environment, but how much of an impact depends on the mining practices and extraction methods that are used. As a rule, tungsten and titanium metals that are mined in developed countries have a lower environmental impact due to enforced regulation standards and laws. If you are interested in tungsten or titanium rings, ask about the origin of the metals used to create the rings.

Like tungsten and titanium, there is an environmental cost to silver mining, but how much depends on the practices of the mine. Fortunately, many sterling silver rings crafted out of recycled sterling silver are widely available.

*Another important consideration for eco-friendly wedding rings is white gold which must be rhodium plated to retain its white color. Most wedding rings need a new application of rhodium every 1 to 2 years, but there is no guarantee that the rhodium used is recycled or ethically sourced. For this reason, if you are looking for a white metal wedding ring, recycled platinum, silver and palladium are best for white metal rings as they do not require a rhodium plate. 

Recommendations for Eco Friendly Wedding Rings

More and more jewelry companies today are focusing on environmentally friendly wedding and engagement rings. There are many to choose from - here are a few of EWR's favorites for handcrafted rings using recycled metals.

Blue Nile: Specializing in wedding and engagement ring designs, Blue Nile has always been committed to reducing environmental impacts of jewelry. Rings are made with recycled metals, a large selection of white and fancy colored lab created rings are available here plus No Conflict natural white and rare fancy colored diamonds.

Etsy: Home to many jewelers who run their own small businesses, it is possible to find eco jewelry makers who use recycled metals for their crafts - platinum, silver, rose gold - you can also find jewelers who specialize in wood wedding rings here. 

Brilliant Earth: Based in California, this company has always maintained a strong commitment to ethical jewelry. Recycled metals, lab created diamonds and low-impact sourced gemstones and natural diamonds plus be-spoke rings are available here.

Adin: Exceptional resource for authentic antique and vintage wedding rings.

Diamond Simulant and Synthetic Wedding Rings

In the past, lab created diamonds were priced much higher than they are now. Couples looking for a diamond ring low in cost and made ethically often turn to diamond simulants like cubic zirconia or gemstones like moissanite. 

Cubic zirconia wedding rings made with sterling silver and stainless steel are the best for every day wear and environmental impact. 

Moissanite can be matched with recycled metals of any kind. 

As lab created diamonds are now availalbe in a wide range of cuts and lower in price, couples can choose ethically made lab created diamond rings for much less than even a few years ago. For example, at Ritani a half carat lab created diamond paired with rose gold is available in a price range of $500 to $1,000. 

*A Note About Searching for Eco Friendly Wedding Rings

Here at Everything Wedding Rings, I am continually searching for retailers which offer truly earth friendly rings made with quality craftsmanship. Repeatedly, I have found wedding and engagement ring companies which heavily promote their "green rings" and eco-friendly products, only to find upon further research that their products are not green at all. 

Sometimes a deep dive is needed to make sure a company really is creating ethical and environmentally friendly wedding rings. 

To show an example of my experiences, here is a transcript from a customer service online chat with a company that has an entire page on their website claiming that their jewelry pieces are green - I wanted to speak with customer service to confirm, and here were the shocking results from that chat. 

You are now chatting with "Mike"

Mike: How may I assist you?

Suzanne: Are all jewelry pieces on ***** made from recycled metals?

Mike: No, our precious metals are ordered from a 3rd party casting company, which only uses raw metals.

Suzanne: On the website, it says that ***** offers green jewelry?

Mike: Metals used in green jewelry are not mined destructively as jewelry made with new gold, silver and other precious metals is.

Suzanne: Yes, I understand that. My question though hasn't really been answered. On the website it says one of the reasons to use ***** is because the company is a "Green Jewelry Manufacturer" that uses recycled metals in the rings. If **** uses a 3rd party for casting with raw metals, then where does the green jewelry aspect come in?

Mike: I will be right with you.

Mike: I'm sorry for the delay. I am currently on the phone and don't want to keep you on hold for too long. If you don't mind holding, then you can stay online. Otherwise feel free to call us at ********.

Suzanne: I can hold, thanks.

Mike: The green jewelry that we offer is in the jewelry manufacturing process which utilizes eco-friendly machinery.

Suzanne: So, only the machinery is eco-friendly?

Mike: Yes, our factory is eco-friendly

Suzanne: Well, someone in the company needs to look at the mis-information on the site about green jewelry. It mentioned specifically that the metals and gemstones are recycled - not only is the information misleading, but it is obviously completely incorrect. Thank-you.

I was - and still am - completely floored at how this company is conducting itself and misrepresenting itself as a "green jewelry" retailer for eco friendly wedding rings, plus had the audacity to actually say on their site that they offered jewelry made with recycled metals and gemstones. It just goes to show, that extra diligence is needed to find truly eco friendly wedding rings and engagement rings.

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