|
|
Ethical Dilemma
Posted by:
Anonymous User
()
Date: May 06, 2011 03:14PM Can I buy a handmade necklace from another crafter that is made with pieces of coral? I have some shell jewelry, an abalone shell and some large man-made pearls from a store I used to work at that I love very much but give me pangs of I-don't-know-what-to-call-it whenever I see them.
Maybe I have answered my own question. Not only is coral a living creature, it's an endangered living creature. Sigh. Elements from the natural world are so beautiful, sometimes it's very tempting to want to "have" them so you can see them all the time. Re: Ethical Dilemma
Posted by:
brome
()
Date: May 06, 2011 05:56PM Keep your low impact pieces, the pearls and abalone and the shells, if they're not endangered, and assuage your guilt with generous donations to conservation groups, ie Oceana.
I googled: endangered coral jewelry ... and this link typifies the consensus: Coral for Jewelry is Devastating Fragile Reefs: [craftingagreenworld.com] [www.treehugger.com] Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/06/2011 06:01PM by brome. Re: Ethical Dilemma
Posted by:
Anonymous User
()
Date: May 06, 2011 06:28PM Ugh, that is upsetting.
I am not much of a jewelry wearer already, I can totally avoid that. Re: Ethical Dilemma
Posted by:
Trive
()
Date: May 06, 2011 06:55PM Thank you for thinking about this, coco. So many people choose to ignore questions like this, telling themselves that it is only a little amount, no harm done, but it is so many small amounts that devastate an entire ecosystem. 
My favorite raw vegan Re: Ethical Dilemma
Posted by:
Tamukha
()
Date: May 06, 2011 08:10PM I would consider whether the purchase encourages further rapine. Like if the crafter made this from existing coral that belonged to her mother or something, the harm's already done and can't be helped. If it was done using recently sourced coral, well, do you want to contribute to that?
I have several coral bead necklaces that are antiques and which were given to me as gifts from the old country. There was a longstanding tradition there of dearly purchasing coral from traders, and then crafting it into beads for necklaces that were given to girls for their dowries. This is what the giver intended them to be for me, so I cannot regret the loss of the coral from two or three hundred years ago. But I sure as heck won't purchase any new! Re: Ethical Dilemma
Posted by:
Anonymous User
()
Date: May 06, 2011 08:47PM Sometimes I feel like the wool, leather and silk items I purchase from a thrift shop only serve to encourage others to seek out the same sort of items, often from "new" sources. I don't ever wear pearls for just this reason. I have a strand of very old bone beads carved into skulls that I also can't stand to wear. I'm pretty sure I'd feel the same about the coral. Re: Ethical Dilemma
Posted by:
Corathegreen
()
Date: May 11, 2011 12:16PM Yeah I'd avoid, especially when there are other natural jewelry items such as wood that are very pretty if you're going for that earthy look.  Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.
|
|
