Keshet Crystals Ethical Policy
It is easy for a brand to slap on an 'ethically sourced' label, without doing any proper research about the sources of their inventory. This is more and more common, especially with the crystal market and new age spirituality being on the uprise!
Crystals are obtained from all around the world, and the mining process can be extremely unregulated. This is why I have poured so much time into researching and finding ethical suppliers for my shop, so that you can purchase crystals knowing that their journey from the mines to the shelf has been as fair and as safe as possible.
This is also why you won't find certain crystals for sale here, as if I have found that the sourcing behind the stones is not to my standard, I refuse to stock them. An example of this is a beautiful mineral called 'Lapis Lazuli'. This crystal is mined in Afghanistan, which is currently under extremist control. This means that the mining that takes place here is under Taliban regulation and is therefore far from ethical and instead, this beautiful crystal is a chance for workers to be exploited and more corrupt money to be made.
One of my suppliers has a sister company in South Africa, specialising in rough & tumbled material. Another supplier spends at least 6 months of the year travelling to see for themselves how well staff and subcontractors are being treated.
Of course, as much as I wish everything was done fairly and with kindness and love, this is not always the case. I want to ensure you that I strive to find the most ethical and fair trade suppliers, who listen to their workers and are knowledgable about the sources of their stock. I also try to use only eco-friendly packaging, using re-useable bags for your crystals, recycled shredded paper and eco peanuts in packaging and recycled tissue paper as gift wrap! To ensure your crystals have a safe journey to you, I reuse the bubblewrap that my suppliers used!
My personal opinon on Moldavite:
Moldavite is a beautiful stone that has transformed my life. However, if i had the chance to purchase it again, now that I am more knowledgable on the sources of this stone, I wouldn't! Because of the 'hype' around Moldavite, there is such extreme demand for it that even more illegal, unregulated and unsafe mining takes place of this crystal to keep up. For me, there are plenty of other really amazing stones, such as Malachite, that I can be far more assured are mined responsibly.. so I will not be stocking Moldavite for the foreseeable future! Wherever you shop for your crystals, remember that as a customer, you deserve to have the peace of mind that the items you purchase are not supporting anything that you stand against!
Why I do not stock Sage and Palo Santo:
Palo Santo, or Bursera Graveolens is a sacred tree prevalent in South America, with the biggest growth happening in Ecuador and Peru. The therapeutic benefits of Palo Santo are many, it is highly medicinal and healing. The highest quality oils form in the aged heartwood, which is used in sacred ceremonies and for healing by specific local cultures. The alluring, heady scent of the resin is one of the major contributors to its rise in popularity in the West. However, the practise of 'smudging' is different to smoke cleansing and is sacred to Indigenous cultures and Shamans. I strongly believe that we should leave indigenous practises to indigenous cultures as a sign of respect. Palo Santo is also now over-consumed and a way of corporate companies exploiting both the environment and workers for money. There are plenty of other ways to smoke cleanse, let's leave smudging to the native folk!
White Sage has been used for centuries, by Indigenous tribes in spiritual ceremonies to cleanse, purify and pray. Whether you believe it to be cultural appreciation rather than appropriation, the environmental devastation that excessive sage harvesting causes cannot be debated! For traditional use, Palo Santo should be harvested only once the tree has died and is resting on the forest floor, otherwise the smudging won’t be effective according to forest communities. The main problem comes from this wait time as it takes 50 years for one species of the Palo Santo to die, and 200 years for the other species to die. This leads to it being illegally harvested and unsustainably sourced as it is being harvested faster than it can be replaced, threatening the species and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions. A member of the mint family, White Sage has tapering silver leaves that, like many herbs, grows more vigorously when pruned—but only to a point. The species still thrives in some remote and inaccessible areas, including on private property, but across much of its range has been reduced to mere fragments. Poachers are now targeting reserves, risking fines and in some cases jail; outside reserves, where harvesting white sage is still legal, the plant, once abundant, is increasingly scarce. There is so much illegal harvesting of White Sage, and again, there is huge exploitation and danger for the pickers. If you are interested, just google the environmental effects of the harvesting of these plants, there is so much information out there! If you still feel you need White Sage in your practise, ensure that you are purchasing from a traceable source. I personally strongly believe that we should leave closed practises to native people. There are so many other, more sustainable plants we can use.