Gold is a messy business. Mining destroys ecosystems, generates toxic waste and emits huge amounts of carbon, exploits workers, and fuels the “growth at all costs” model of capitalism. Because of its high value per gram, gold is easily smuggled, illicitly traded, and used to fund conflict. See Al Jazeera’s exposé for gold's dirty secrets.
But it is beautiful! And it is the backbone of the jewellery industry!
With sustainability a growing concern for both customers and designers, many jewellers are seeking alternatives to destructive mining. One popular solution? Recycled gold.
But here’s the problem: behind the glossy marketing, “recycled gold” is riddled with contradictions and, more often than not, blatant greenwashing [1].
Let’s unpack the claims.
“Recycling gold is good for the environment.” Really?
“Recycling”—defined by Encyclopaedia Britannica as “the reprocessing of waste materials for use in new products”—was popularised in the 1970s amid growing concern about the size and impact of landfills. But that definition doesn’t translate neatly to gold.
Gold is almost never discarded as waste. Its value ensures it’s hoarded, resold, melted down, and reused indefinitely. Only with the rise of consumer electronics did trace amounts of gold in e-waste actually end up in landfills. But here’s the catch: e-waste accounts for only around 3% of all “recycled” gold [2].
The rest? High-value scrap—old jewellery, coins, dental fillings, jewellers’ bench dust—things that were never landfill-bound in the first place. Calling this recycling isn’t a sustainability win. It’s just business as usual.
“With recycled gold, you know where it’s from.” Really?
Not only can “used” gold come from stolen goods, but it might not be old at all.
A 2020 Carnegie report [3] revealed how the United Arab Emirates exploited this loophole. Raw gold imported from conflict regions was turned into basic jewellery—$1.2 billion worth in 2016 alone—exported as “scrap,” refined, and then sold as “recycled gold” to markets in the U.S., Italy, the UK, and Germany—all countries that prohibit direct imports from conflict zones.
In other words, “recycled gold” has been and continues to be a convenient smokescreen for laundering conflict gold. It’s a loophole that enables stolen goods, human rights abuses, corruption, and environmental destruction to slip into the supply chain under the guise of sustainability.
“Recycling gold reduces mining.” Really?
In theory, maybe. In reality, not at all.
Jewellery accounts for nearly half of global gold demand (48.7% in 2023, according to Statista [4]). Demand keeps climbing—up around 5% every year [5]—while mining output struggles to keep pace. In 2022, about 25% of supply came from “recycled” gold [6], but demand still drives new mining.
In short: recycled gold does not reduce mining. It simply supplements it.
“Recycling gold has a lower carbon footprint.” Really?
Technically, yes, although as we mentioned its not actually recycling. Refining existing high-value scrap uses less energy than mining virgin ore.
That’s really great if the gold is in genuine need of reusing but if it’s being refined as a way to hide its dirty origins, well then that’s just extra resources for nefarious gain.
So what now?
Fairmined Gold Ingot- Supports Responsible Mining Practice
If the jewellery industry is serious about responsibility, it must move beyond vague, feel-good labels like “recycled” and instead champion transparent repurposing of gold already above ground, alongside responsible mining for what remains in the earth.
So if you’re committed to recycled gold, ask hard questions. If a jeweller can’t tell you exactly where their “recycled” gold came from, that’s not sustainability—that’s spin.
References:
[1] Greenwashing is the process of conveying a false impression or misleading information about how a company’s products are environmentally sound. www.investopedia
[4] www.statista.com
[5] Global gold demand reaches a record high value of over US$100 billion | Mining Indaba
[6] www.gold.org