Sparkly

As pretty as they may be, the diamond industry can wreak havoc on the environment - socially and sustainably. "Blood" or "conflict" diamonds - i.e. diamonds mined in war-torn countries under dictatorships - have been known to finance devastating wars in countries like Sierra Leone and Nigeria and are harvested in abusive, slave-like conditions.

All of this for a stone which, despite its ridiculous industry mark-up, isn't "rare" or "valuable" in the slightest - in fact, diamonds are incredibly common.

The gold that encases diamond jewelry is no better: mining the resource is horrible for the environment and perhaps, a bit needless. According to the book the "Big Green Purse" , there is already enough mined gold on the planet to satisfy the need for the next 50 years, in the form of broken and discarded jewelry.

Here are some sustainable diamond alternatives:

-- DIAZ only uses conflict-free, ethical diamonds.
-- MiaDonna creates simulated diamonds in a lab for a fraction of the cost of mined diamonds. The products are also sustainable.
-- Brilliant Earth creates sonflict free Canadian diamond jewelry. Their high quality natural diamonds are an ethical choice as the are "untarnished by wars, human rights violations and terrorism".

If you want a natural diamond opt for one that has been mined in Canada, where the human rights of the workers are respected.