Ethically Procured
Well, This can be a misnomer, and overstated in this industry. We do our due diligence to make sure our collection is ethically procured. However, it is difficult to claim that raw crystals/minerals, fossil, polish/carved crystals are ethically sourced, and here is why!
While in the United States, we have government oversight in the mining industry, that regulates the safety of personnel but in most other countries this either is limited in the mining industry or there is no government oversight for the safety and age of persons mining, claiming an item is ethically sourced is hard to establish coming from a foreign country.
Minerals and crystals after mining can exchange hands multiple times, and even multiple countries before coming to the U.S. for sale.
Can you visit/travel to the mine to make sure it's ethically sourced! Yes, you can absolutely do that. However unless you are going to live nearby, all year round, what happens when you leave the mine or the area? Mining operations can resume to what the locals could call normal operations, an unethically sourced crystal/mineral.
At Andaluz, we try our very best to obtain ethically procured crystals & minerals from our wholesalers. Please be cautious when a store claims 100% ethically sourced crystal is for sale, please ask many questions.