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Ethics
Why ethics are important
As a crystal distributor, ensuring our products are sustainably sourced and that our suppliers follow ethical practices is a core part of the what we do here at Wildflower Gems. But WHY do we take the extra time and effort to ensure the ethics of our products? And why should you as a consumer care?
One of the first things to note about the crystal trade is that it is largely unregulated, this means that there is no authority overseeing the ethical and environmental practices of crystal suppliers, wholesalers, mines and factories in some parts of the world, leaving exploitation unchecked . So, we take the responsibility to ensure we are only supporting suppliers with the highest reasonable standards for ethics and also paying attention to their impacts on the environment.
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Unethical mining practices can often be very dangerous for workers, miners are also often poorly paid and in some cases, young children may even be working in mines. Large scale mining can also be detrimental to the environment, causing loss of biodiversity, deforestation and forcing people to leave their homes. Scary huh!! This is why we are so passionate about making sure that is not the case with the products you purchase from us.
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Not only are proper ethical practices important for protecting the environment and people, but we feel that they are also important in terms of the crystals sourced and their capacity to heal. Crystals are structured in a way that creates an energy field in and around the crystal, this is how crystals are used for healing, they hold energy. This is why when in someone's aura, crystals attune to that person and can help alter their energy to bring them healing. The same logic applies to setting intentions with crystals, when that mental energy is set onto a crystal, it holds onto it and invigorates the intention. Therefore, if a crystal has been mined and handled carelessly, i believe it can hold on to some of that trauma also.
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This is something we NEVER want to support and you can read more about the precautions and measures we have put in to place to ensure this is not the case with the crystals we source so you can build your collection with us with a clear conscience.
Sustainability at the source, Environmental impacts and conservation
Wherever possible, we source our materials and rough stone from small deposits, mined by hand with minimal machinery (to reduce noise pollution and environmental damage). The majority of our rough stock such as clusters and raw stone is mined by families, small groups and individuals that we support. When it comes to polished crystals and stones, once again we try to purchase from suppliers as close to the source as possible, sometimes even from the talented people that polish and carve the stones themselves, this keeps us in direct contact with the people behind our products and over wildflower gems' lifetime, we have built wonderful friendships with these beautiful souls and know that our crystals are in good hands.
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Not only does getting close to the source mean we know exactly how our products are obtained, the first names of some of the people that we support all the way along the production line and that we are respectful of mother nature and her creations but it also means that we cut out any middle men that drive up the price. This means we can bring you stunning, high quality AND ethical crystals while keeping our prices very reasonable. We want to make crystal healing as accessible as possible to as many people as possible and I'm pleased to say that I think we're well on the way to that goal!
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Conscious packaging
Wherever possible we use recycled, recyclable or reused materials to package your orders, we also request that any shipments we recieve are packaged with recyclable materials where possible.
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We're constantly trying to improve in this regard and are currently transitioning to even more sustainable packaging methods.
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The only products we use for packaging that are not recyclable are tapes and bubble mailers, we will be switching to recyclable or biodegradable alternatives for these also in the near future.
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