Brilliant Earth: Sustainable & Ethically Made Jewelry
Brilliant Earth is a sustainable and ethically made jewelry company specializing in engagement rings while offering luxury and everyday pieces.
About Brilliant Earth:
Committed to responsible sourcing and diamonds that are Beyond Conflict FreeTM, Brilliant Earth is creating fine jewelry that is different in every way – how it’s made, how it’s sold, how it’s sourced and crafted, and how it gives back. As a result, Brilliant Earth goes beyond current industry practices for sourcing, uses recycled precious metals to minimize its environmental footprint, and supports environmental and social causes through its giving-back initiatives. The result is incomparably beautiful jewelry that doesn’t compromise quality and conscience.
Female Founded
The idea for Brilliant Earth was conceived in 2004 by Co-Founders Beth Gerstein and Eric Grossberg. In 2003, Beth struggled to find an ethically produced engagement ring. So, she and Eric launched Brilliant Earth to help solve the issue.
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Production/Manufacturing:
To comply with its rigorous protocol for diamond sourcing that goes beyond current industry practices, Brilliant Earth carefully selects a small number of suppliers who can demonstrate adherence to its high standards of sourcing. They carefully vet and approve each diamond supplier to determine if they have the necessary capabilities to track and segregate diamonds based on origin.
Suppliers must agree to the Brilliant Earth Supplier Code of Conduct, and they evaluate their compliance through various audit protocols, such as the Responsible Jewellery Council Code of Practices certification and the DTC Best Practice Principles (BPP) Assurance Programme.
Brilliant Earth supports fair trade in artisanal mining, community development, human rights protection and child labor prevention, education and training, and environmental restoration such as rehabilitating land that has been destroyed by unregulated mining.
Brilliant Earth was also one of the first jewelers to offer blockchain-enabled diamonds at scale, to provide traceability of a diamond’s origin and ownership.
Materials Used
In their engagement rings, Brilliant Earth uses ethically and sustainably sourced natural diamonds, recycled diamonds, and lab-grown diamonds, including The Renewable Collection, created from 100% renewable wind and solar energy. The Truly Brilliant™ diamonds collection is curated for traceability, sustainability, cut, color, and clarity.
Throughout the jewelry ranges, Brilliant Earth strives to use 100% recycled precious metals to minimize its footprint and help diminish the negative impacts of metal mining.
Precious Metals
The precious metals come from numerous sources, including post-consumer materials, such as existing jewelry, industrial-use metals, and electronics components; material from in-house recycling, refining, and product manufacturing or other secondary sources; and investment gold and gold-bearing products.
Gemstones
They also carry a variety of colored gemstones that are sourced in alignment with safe working conditions and environmentally responsible principles. By continually working with their colored gemstone suppliers to improve standards and traceability, they are working to promote higher standards for gemstone sourcing to transform dangerous mining conditions and encourage responsible practices.
Ring Boxes & Packaging
The wooden ring boxes are made from responsibly sourced wood. Materials sourced with FSC-certified materials.
Sustainability Efforts:
Brilliant Earth uses clean energy in its showrooms and offices and supports wind and solar energy projects through collaborations that help address climate change.
Sustainable Credentials
Brilliant Earth is a sustainable and ethically sourced jewelry company certified by the Responsible Jewellery Council.
Ring Boxes & Packaging
The ring boxes and packaging are Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified. FSC-certified forests are responsibly managed to protect the forests for future generations. Additionally, the sustainable and ethically-made jewelry company is a Fairmined Licensed Brand and they have a Fairmined collection.
Jewelry Recycling Program
To facilitate a circular economy and encourage the reuse of materials, Brilliant Earth encourages their customers to recycle the gold and platinum jewelry that they no longer wear for credit toward a future purchase.
How does it work?
Brilliant Earth will gladly accept and recycle any gold or platinum jewelry and will offer a credit towards any Brilliant Earth purchase of equal or greater value based on current metal prices. Please note that after 30 days from the initial credit notice, if they have not received instructions to return jewelry to you, Brilliant Earth reserves the right to recycle all items sent in for evaluation and apply a store credit to your account. Learn more about recycling your jewelry with Brilliant Earth here.
Sustainable Milestones
Since 2018, Brilliant Earth has calculated its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The company accounts for its corporate and showroom energy, packaging, shipping, employee business travel, and commuting.
Waste, Fuel, and Energy
In 2022, Brilliant Earth enhanced its data collection to include operational waste and fuel- and energy-related activities. Using factors from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the company estimated emissions from purchased energy and employee business travel.
In 2022, Brilliant Earth displaced its operational emissions. This was achieved through the purchase of Renewable Energy Credits (RECs) and Verified Emission Reductions (VERs). The credits were used for corporate electricity and emissions. This was displaced through the Sky Wind Project in Maharashtra, India, regionally located near the majority of their manufacturers.
Fairmined
Fairmined is a grant partnership with Pure Earth and the Alliance for Responsible Mining. Fairmined empowers artisanal small-scale miners and the families they support. This also ensures that Brilliant Earth’s gold meets the Fairmined Standard for social and environmental practices.
Packaging
Their paperboard packaging is 100% FSC Recycled from pre- and post-consumer content, which supports a circular economy and provides customers with recyclable packaging that can take another turn in its life cycle.
Brilliant Earth’s precious metals are sourced from certified responsible refiners who also hold recycling certifications from the Responsible Jewellery Council or third-party validator, SCS. According to their 2022 Mission Report, Brilliant Earth used 98% recycled gold and 97% recycled silver.
In 2022, Brilliant Earth also:
- Identified opportunities to implement more environmentally friendly updates focused on operating energy, embodied carbon, and global warming potential (GWP) of their showrooms and renovations
- Began the process to reduce the paper content of their 100% FSC Recycled packaging
- Analyzed data on return and repair rates, and redesigned several styles based on that data to improve quality, durability, and reduce waste
- Increased marketing and circularity education for the lifetime warranty, diamond upgrade, and recycled metal credit program
- Supported several organizations that advance environmental, political, and social movements that align with their values through the “Brilliant Earth Foundation” and through their Jewelry That Gives Back collection
- Enhanced their data collection of GHG emissions and aligned to the Greenhouse Gas Protocol for all categories
- Made steps toward more accurately quantifying their Scope 2 and 3 emissions by engaging with digital service providers and transportation companies, improving data collection for employee travel and commuting, surveying their supplier base for renewable energy use, and using secondary data to estimate purchased goods and services
- Made strides to reduce waste in their showrooms, offices, and distribution center and eliminated single-use disposable tableware at their new showroom locations and in their distribution center
Currently Working Toward
Brilliant Earth is actively working with its manufacturers to implement sustainable production solutions, such as energy-efficient facilities and renewable energy. Read more on the journey to becoming carbon neutral. The company continues to make advances in the complex area of traceability and verification of recycled precious metals. The aim is for 100% of its gold and silver to be from recycled or Fairmined sources. Brilliant Earth is also regularly evaluating its gemstone suppliers’ mining sources and countries of origin to push for additional visibility and transparency in their supply chains.
According to their 2022 Mission Report, Brilliant Earth is also working on continuing to:
- Identify innovations that continue to make designs and manufacturing processes sustainable by reducing material use and key waste streams in Tier 2 manufacturing locations.
- Promote circularity and longer use of jewelry through repair, refurbishment, diamond upgrade, metal credit program, and recycled diamond offerings.
- Leverage the Brilliant Earth platform to also advocate for environmental and social protection by supporting relevant causes, events, political and social movements, and employee education.
- Measure and publish science-based GHG emissions reduction targets to corresponding target dates.
- Neutralize quantifiable pre-2018 Scope 1 and 2 emissions in 2023, and neutralize Scope 2 and 3 emissions by 2030 by engaging key business partners to implement renewable energy or investments in renewable energy projects.
- Eliminate single-use plastics in showrooms and corporate spaces by 2025.
- Source 100% of gold and silver from recycled or Fairmined sources by 2025, with year-over-year increases in the percentage of recycled platinum used in their products.
- Achieve zero waste in showrooms and corporate spaces by 2030.
For more information about Brilliant Earth’s ESG Goals, read their report, here.
Social Justice & Advocacy
In addition to being a sustainable and ethically made jewelry company, Brilliant Earth has committed to making a larger social impact. The company’s efforts are directed toward awareness, social justice, women’s empowerment, gender inclusivity, LGBTQIA+ equality, diversity, and local engagement. A majority of staff, people managers, directors, executives, and Board members identify as women.
Brilliant Earth Foundation
The Brilliant Earth Foundation is a donor-advised fund, focused on three critical areas – Responsible Sourcing, Social Impact, and Climate Action. Through this foundation, the company contributes to programs that are dedicated to improving social and environmental practices, including Feeding America, the Rainforest Alliance, and the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
The supports initiatives for education & vocational training; fair mining practices; protecting children from child labor; and restoring land that has been destroyed by unregulated mining.
In 2015, the sustainable and ethically made jewelry company helped fund the Brilliant Earth Mobile School in the Democratic Republic of Congo. This offered an education and a safe place for kids, who otherwise might have been working in the diamond mines.
In 2022, Brilliant Earth awarded $518,000 to non-profit organizations, tripling their donations from the year prior.
