Ethics Policy

Here at Vial of Venus I believe in only supplying crystals and products which are sustainably, responsibly and consciously sourced.

The term you may be more familiar with is “ethically sourced”;  which is a subjective term, like any can mean different things to different people, but I personally feel it is being thrown around a lot recently from crystal businesses but they don’t go into depth on what really this means for their business and how they can claim to label themselves as such. Through this business and over my personal years of purchasing crystals I’ve researched and learnt a lot; but more so now because of my business, a year later into it, researching, communicating with suppliers, miners and seeing behind the scenes, I really am able to grasp and understand this concept more clearly. I’m going to cover and touch basis on all the information you should know and need to when buying crystals, so please read through it all carefully.

Some crystals can be collected from the earths surface through rock/crystal hunting but must of the crystals you know to buy and love will be extracted from the earth. Any form of mining will always have an impact on the environment, which is not a comfortable subject but is one more need to know and consider. Most of those who work with crystals are doing so in goodwill, to help and serve ourselves as well as others. This should also extend to the planet that is gifting us such extraordinary tools and the workers who extract them. Mining techniques vary considerably, depending on the mineral or gemstone that is being extracted. Industrial and precious gemstone (ruby, diamonds, emerald etc) mining is on a much larger scale in comparison to crystal mining. Crystal mining is comparatively rare and always done on a small scale so should not be confused with industrial mining. Crystal and mineral specimens are a lot more delicate and would be destroyed if extracted by the industrial mining techniques used. Alternatively they are harvested by usually a small group of people, often family groups, who will carefully mine, extract and remove the specimens by hand. Majority of miners are family collectives and work for themselves so they retain the profits of what they sell. Which is usually sold onto businesses directly, or to third party suppliers/wholesalers who gather a variety of different crystals from all over different mines in the world to make it easier for businesses to purchase all they are searching for together in one place. 

Now in the 21st century, the use of crystals and their healing/therapy has became more mainstream and increased greatly in popularity all over. As someone who has worked with crystals and collected them since a child, I see this as a positive development in terms of more people being open to these wonder of gifts from Mother Nature and the history of their healing benefits. However due to this increase, more crystal shops are popping up everyday and with this obviously creates greater global demand. This is also exacerbated by demand from emerging markets such as those in China, where minerals are valued more for their decorative use and cheaper sale, for example i‘m sure you’ve seen those live streams all over on tiktok for 1.99-4.99 “crystal lucky scoop” including tumbles, carvings and jewellery. Mining in these developing countries also poses for more the potential issue of poor labour, even child labour, under paid work, poor adherence of health and safety regulations etc. Coming back to the main point of the term ethically sourced, in theory it is very subjective and can be misleading when referring to crystal mining, it more depends on what it means to the business and their work. As unfortunately there is no certification/stamp of approval, no set ‘rules’ or regulations in place to deem what can be classified as ethically sourced or to say standards have been upheld when mining and extracting these crystals. There is accurately no way of policing crystals and mineral specimens that comes under this term. Unless you are doing the extraction/mining your complete self there is not a way to 100% know what process was followed. Not all mines are always heavily monitored or regulated say in comparison to the food industry and the standards monitored for it to uphold. Due to this I no longer feel comfortable or it right to state I am an ‘ethically sourced’ business but prefer to use terms such as consciously, responsibly and sustainably sourced when talking about my crystals which have been mined, extracted and purchased from trustworthy sources, which I will be transparent about and say what this term means for me/my business towards the end. 

The ways to ensure crystals are sourced the right way; is when possible purchase directly from miners, who as a shop owner or consumer you’ll be able to ask and be told where the crystal is from and what the conditions were when mining them. In a lot of cases they’ll even let you visit the mine which understandably is not always practical but this is where purchasing from a third party trusted and reputable suppliers/wholesalers come in. As they will work directly with the miners and will know (or be able to reasonably assess) most aspects of the crystals source, extraction, conversion and supply. Mostly they will have long term commitments in place with them, thereby knowing the working conditions being able to safeguard plus contribute to the improvement of these conditions of employees. Also stabilising and giving back/helping with the local economy and environment. When packaging their products, most of the time, they will also include the country of origin. It’s easier to look into the sustainability of the mining practice for the mineral you’ve purchased when knowing the origin. They as well should have some form of ethics policy, similar to the one reading now, but it will outline all of what the do and who they work with so you can easily see and know the ins and outs of the crystals you’re purchasing. For these reasons, crystals will most often be more expensive from trusted suppliers. 

At Vial of Venus this is exactly what I do, and I want to be transparent about this. I can never know or claim to be 100% ethical, it would be misleading for me to do so, but I am very conscious in where / who I source my crystals from. All my suppliers and miners I work with to source and purchase the crystals you see on my website; I have researched into and gathered all the information to know the exact high quality of sustainable products I am getting and where they have come from, the mining conditions etc all of what I have spoke about above. My main suppliers all work directly with the mines they source from and have for many years, they are family businesses who have been trading for the last 50 years. They visit the factories and mines on regular basis, they meet all the miners/suppliers, get to know them and their families to ensure they have never witnessed any unethical or exploitative practices, if anything does not follow their standards they are quick to inform me and change what needs to, to ensure ethics. I have selected them all for their reliability and trustworthiness and that is exactly what they have in their established connections of individuals who they source from to supply to my business and many others. By purchasing from them as well I know my money is also going back into the communities and villages supplying them with food/water, opportunities, fair wages etc. As well making sure they don’t use explosive or destructive equipment when mining so environmental impact is as minimal as it can be, of course there is still an impact, which they are honest about but never on a scale like other mining practices. The vast majority of their supply comes from families and individuals who only source of income is extracting these crystals. I know all of them are committed to providing safe working environments and hold regular health and safety checks plus safety training. All employees are treated with respect and equal opportunities. They always answer all questions and honest with all information they give in regards to their products and minerals. Which is why I know I can say that everything at Vial of Venus is consciously, responsibly and sustainably sourced with full confidence in what I believe those terms mean to me, my business and my vendors. As well I try my best to be as eco friendly as possible with packaging, using no to minimal plastic. All bubble wrap used is reused in your orders from wholesale deliveries.

As the crystal and mineral industry continues to grow, we as a whole from the mines, to suppliers and through to retailers need to push for more transparency and sustainable, conscious practices to ensure this is a trustworthy industry. If you care about how your crystals and minerals are manufactured, I strongly and always recommend paying that bit more to purchase from a reputable business (like mine), rather than buying ultra cheap crystals that you see online from unknown sources, and no information on where the crystal came from, the conditions and if the workers were treated fairly. As a business I am driven with passion, love, care, enthusiasm and the utter most respect for everything Mother Nature provides in our natural world. One thing in earths favour is the geological process is constant and crystals will continue to form and flourish beneath the earths surface long after we as a human race are gone.