There’s a lot that goes into the decision-making process when choosing an ethical engagement ring—never mind the anxiety of popping the question.
But environmental and societal considerations are often overshadowed by the 4Cs.
Due to the less-than-shiny ethics behind mining diamonds and precious metals, most mainstream jewelry brands are indirectly supporting child labor and environmental degradation.
Brands who create more sustainable diamond rings and wedding rings are a cut above the rest and for this list, we sought out fair trade or recycled metals; vintage, recycled, repurposed, lab-grown or conflict-free gemstones; a focus on constantly improving supply chains; climate action and community support.
We’ve also tried to include a few more affordable options too!
We know there’s a lot more to ethics and sustainability so we’ll be extending our consideration set to include 22 different attributes through our brand rating system. Learn more about it here.
Brands need to opt in (and pay) to be rated so if you don’t see any on the list below and want a deeper view of their sustainability creds, reach out and ask them to get rated.
We independently research all featured brands and we ask them to confirm their claims. In many cases we personally review recommended products. This post contains affiliate links which means we may earn a commission if you buy something. Learn more here.
Our Picks: The Best Sustainable Engagement Rings
You don’t need to spend a grand amount of money for your grand gesture. Mejuri has affordable ethical engagement rings to show your love just as well.
If you want to avoid absolutely any form of new diamond acquisitions, the vintage recycled diamond engagement rings from Estate Diamond Rings shine sustainably bright.
Index: Ethical Engagement Rings
- Vintage Rings Jump to brand
- Do Amore Jump to brand
- Mejuri Jump to brand
- Taylor & Hart Jump to brand
- Catbird Jump to brand
- Ella Stein Jump to brand
- VRAI Jump to brand
- Aurate Jump to brand
Vintage Rings
The most conflict-free and ethical engagement rings are those that don’t require new materials to be mined: vintage rings.
Not to mention, some of the most unique engagement rings too.
To help you find a gem, we have two Etsy creators in mind:
The team at New York based Estate Diamond Jewelry specializes in vintage and antique rings, with over 400 rare and exquisite engagement rings, from around the world.
Among them are vintage emerald engagement rings, as well as an array of rings banded with sapphire, aquamarine, and other precious gems.
Cypress Creek Vintage also has these things, though they stock more Edwardian and Victorian era pieces, as well as retro and art-deco pieces.
They are one of the few antique shops that accepts returns.
Do Amore
Price Range: $480–$2,080
Do Amore offers custom ethical engagement ring (with the help of their design team).
The experienced team will take your vision, and turn it into a 3D rendered ring for you to approve.
After approving of the 3D rendering and making necessary changes, your creation will arrive in 2 to 3 weeks.
They also have plenty of stunning sustainable diamond engagement rings in their ready-to-ship collection.
Do Amore’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Members of the No Dirty Gold campaign, they offer only recycled metal engagement rings.
They use sustainably sourced diamonds, though they offer recycled and lab-created diamonds and gemstones too.
Supply chain & labor practices:
The primary suppliers of their ethical diamonds source from responsible Canadian mines, as their labor practices are some of the strictest in the world.
Some diamonds are also sourced from mines in Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa. To make sure they are conflict-free diamonds, they come with a blockchain ledger.
All diamonds are cut in India before the custom rings are finished in the U.S.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
Their ring boxes are made from sustainable woods found in New Zealand and Australia.
Carbon offsets are purchased for all manufacturing and shipment impacts.
Community & charitable giving:
The sustainable jewelry brand is cleaning up the industry by providing access to clean water in areas of need.
They drill water wells and educate the community on proper water health and sanitation.
Each socially conscious ring purchase includes GPS coordinates of the precise well and community your contribution supports.
*Purchase an engagement ring here and receive $250 off your order.
Mejuri
Price Range: $598–$3500
With Mejuri’s more affordable ethical engagement rings, your special someone can shine like a responsibly sourced diamond (that doesn’t break the bank).
Known best for their conscious jewelry creations, Mejuri also has a small collection of simple sustainable rings perfect for the minimalist in your life.
Mejuri’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
To reduce their impact on the environment while still supporting local communities that rely on natural diamond mining, 95% of their products rely on recycled gold, and 5% newly mined 14k and 18k gold.
The newly mined gold is traceable and comes from certified suppliers from internationally recognized standards such as Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC).
Around 92% of their 925 silver pieces are also recycled.
Kimberly compliant diamonds are also used, and all are within GHI color range and SI-I 1-2 clarity.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Their suppliers must uphold the standards outlined by their Social & Environmental Accountability Program, as well as their Code of Conduct.
Both hold standards for human rights, fair and safe labor practices, environmental practices, and ethical business practices.
The jewelry brand also partners with Business for Social Responsibility.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
As the exclusive jewelry sector partner of Regeneration, and supporter of the Salmon Gold initiative by RESOLVE, Mejuri actively supports the rehabilitation of legacy mine sites and restorations of surrounding natural environments via earnings from their rings.
As for shipping, they have a polybag recycling program and offset carbon through clean and renewable energy credits.
Community & charitable giving:
Via their Empowerment Fund, the brand has awarded thousands of dollars worth of post-secondary scholarships to BIPOC women and nonbinary individuals.
They’ve also donated to non-profits, including Stop AAPI Hate and The Stonewall Community Foundation.
Taylor & Hart
Price Range: $875–$15,195
Taylor & Hart makes some of the best ethical diamond rings among those that contain mined diamonds.
Having grown up in South Africa, the founders have an intimate knowledge of the blood diamond industry in neighboring Zimbabwe.
They offer everything from vintage to completely custom engagement rings.
Taylor & Hart’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
T&H uses either recycled or fair trade non-recycled platinum and gold.
Gemstone choices include hand-selected and conflict-free diamonds (GIA-graded for top-tier quality), rubies, emeralds, tourmalines, or sapphires.
They now also offer synthetic sustainable engagement rings featuring diamonds grown in a lab using either high pressure and high temperature or Chemical Vapor Deposition methods.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Their diamond suppliers in Botswana, and Australia go above and beyond Kimberley Process requirements.
Blockchain technology and a Diamond Time Lapse provides detailed reports on the entire diamond journey, including who planned, cut, and polished it.
They also offer CanadaMark diamonds which ensures responsible mining, for both the environment and people involved.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
All fair trade eco-friendly engagement rings come with a lifetime warranty, complimentary annual aftercare, resizing, and a 90-day return policy.
Catbird
Price Range: $294–$22,400
Bespoke brand Catbird started in a “cheap, busted storefront” that mostly sold clothes, elbow patches, and pretty ribbons.
Strange beginnings aside, their champagne diamonds in unique and complex settings will certainly make an impression (regardless of the answer!).
As well as in-house designs, this woman-owned conscious jewelry brand offers engagement rings and wedding rings from other designers too.
Catbird’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Catbird’s sustainable materials consist of recycled or Fair Trade gold and conflict free stones.
Their ethical diamond rings do better than the Kimberley Process and are either guaranteed conflict-free, lab-grown, or recycled.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Joining other artisan jewelry brands, Catbird is a member of the Council of Fashion Designers of America and No Dirty Gold.
Their pearl pieces feature pearls from a third-generation clean-water practice farm in Hubei Province in China.
All studio workers benefit from safe and comfortable working conditions, generous employee benefits, professional development opportunities, fair pay, and team lunch every day.
Community & charitable giving:
Catbird has contributed over $1 million to their Catbird Giving Fund, which supports organizations like Black Lives Matter, Planned Parenthood, and the ACLU.
Ella Stein
Price Range: $49–$395
“Real. Raw. Radiant”.
Sounds expensive, but fear not, Ella Stein’s prices are mostly pitched under $100. These affordable ethical engagement rings are designed to be inclusive, steering away from the expectation that you spend several pay checks on a ring.
Ella Stein’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Each engagement ring features a band and setting made of 100% recycled sterling silver, either kept as sterling silver or plated with 14k gold.
Their VS1 colorless diamonds are real, conflict-free, Kimberley Process compliant, and Responsible Jewelry Council Certified.
Supply chain & labor practices:
All jewelry is ethically handcrafted by a team of mostly women in Mumbai, India.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
When rough diamonds are cut for rings, up to 60% may be trimmed and thrown away. Ella Stein takes these scraps and turns them into petite bling.
Products are packed and shipped in reusable, recycled materials.
VRAI
Price Range: $600–$3,150
VRAI means truth in French, as reflected in the brand’s commitment to transparency and use of Certified Carbon Neutral diamonds.
From classic white diamonds to ethical black diamond engagement rings, VRAI is proposal-worthy to say the least.
VRAI’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
They offer both white and black lab grown diamonds in various stone sizes and cuts.
For settings, they use recycled white, yellow, and pink gold, as well as platinum.
Supply chain & labor practices:
VRAI’s diamonds are grown with 100% hydropower in a zero-emissions foundry in the Pacific Northwest.
Their Diamond Foundry is backed by the Blood Diamond star himself— Leonardo DiCaprio.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
Of all the ethical diamond companies out there, VRAI was the first zero-emissions diamond producer.
Every carat they produce saves 143 pounds of carbon dioxide, 2,011 ounces of air pollution, and 250 tons of earth.
Manufacturing, production, shipping, and even business travel are all carbon offset via credits supporting solar and wind power in China and India.
They send their ethically sourced rings in recyclable and compostable packaging and their diamonds are backed by a lifetime warranty.
Community & charitable giving:
VRAI has donated to multiple give-back partners over the years, including No Kid Hungry, Equality Now, and the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.
Aurate
Price Range: $290–$75,000
Aurate’s recycled gold engagement rings, conflict-free diamond studs and novel eye-catching designs are something out of a fairytale.
Aurate’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Their minimalist engagement rings only use 100% recycled gold.
They track every single diamond and gemstone to ensure mining strictly adheres to the Kimberley Process.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Saying “yes” to both recycled engagement rings and an ethical supply chain, Aurate only works with mines that ensure safe working conditions, fair pay, and respect for local and indigenous communities.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
Aurate keeps non-mining operations local by manufacturing in NYC and recycles any excess materials.
They also design their jewelry with longevity in mind—that ring can be used to pop the same question for generations.
Community & charitable giving:
They regularly contribute to a local organization that supports literacy and for every purchase, Aurate donates a book.
Why Choose An Ethical Engagement Ring?
The planet sure won’t be happy with your proposal if those two carats required the displacement of 250 tons of earth to mine per carat of diamond.
Add in the air pollution, water contamination, greenhouse gasses, biodiversity loss, and waste associated with moving earth for gemstones and precious metals… suddenly that ring is no bling.
The diamond industry is also (unsurprisingly) a dangerous place to work, shown by the 20% increase in mortality rate among South African diamond miners. Some of whom are part of the 1 million children estimated to work in mining operations.
And, that’s without mentioning conflict diamonds and precious metal industries are also heavily linked to violent conflict and sexual violence in many diamond producing countries.
Choosing a ring should be like choosing someone with whom we want to spend the rest of our life: not a decision taken lightly.
May we all say “yes” to increasing awareness around environmental and ethical concerns in the jewelry industry.
