Do you know where your crystals and stones come from?

Why is it important to try to source crystals and minerals ethically? Is there a dark side to working with crystals? These may be hard questions to think about but I ask that you please consider the conditions that the miners experience so that you may have inexpensive crystals. The journey to market as well has an impact – the stone you have may have been mined in America but then sent to other countries for polishing and then bought and sold by the barrel full in another country and then brought back to the USA. Quite the carbon footprint. Are your stones being bought and sold in a way that is contributing to human conflict, trafficking or child labor? How do you know? Your best bet is to have trusted sources for your crystals who know their provenance.

I strive to buy from dealers who I know well that have a relationship with the mines, miners and mine owners. I even go digging for the crystals myself. I do know there is much more to this and I may quit carrying stones from certain countries if I cannot get more information and assurances from the dealers I use about mining practices. I hand pick what I sell in small batches and care about the provenance. Is my process perfect? No, but I do consider the impact of my own crystal buying practices.

I think working with crystals and gems is so amazing for us all and super important right now! I just ask that we consider how our gems got to us. Shop carefully with dealers you know and trust and ask questions! No guilt, shame or blame for others who make a different choice. Just something to consider since the goal of working with crystals really is all about contributing to human and planetary healing.