Despite opposition from various quarters, the Kimberley Process continues to act as the industry watchdog, overseeing imports and exports around the world, and the group claims that most of the diamonds in the world are ethically sourced.
However, “jewelers are finding it very difficult to give that assurance to customers,” says Emily Armistead, an organizer with Global Witness. “Unless you’re a high end company that only buys its diamonds from one mine, it’s hard to assure customers that diamonds are conflict free or at least close.”
But since the inception of the Kimberley Process in 2003, she says, consumer demands have changed. In the world of fair trade and free range, social responsibility has become a permanent concern for the brands that produce the West’s diamonds. And it’s those companies that will likely drive future reform, she says, because they can see the writing on the wall if they do not.
“The companies are coming to the table because they recognize the damage that the scandal of conflict diamonds has done,” she says. “They’re conscious that if they allow this to continue, it will really do a disservice to the industry as a whole.”
