September 2021 | Lab Grown Magazine

September 2021 | The Lab Grown Diamond Resource Book 26 To advertise call (888) 832-1109 | September 2021 27 local businesses and the proper distribution of products and services needed as baseline. Candidly, bankers use Median User Life Cost to identify the price of human life. All costs: food, healthcare, clothing, laptops, automotive, vacations, gifting... you name it. 3. Social. This is not what you might think it should be. This section focuses on stakeholders, and I will explain why in Part Two , next month. The optics of the entire supply chain, for all things diamond, have a dazzling appearance of being in control and stable when we all know both sides are tripping over themselves and each other. Yes, the mining side controls natural pricing and distribution, but that means they are also controlling man-made pricing.The optics are amazing, but they are a smokescreen. If you agree, visit anyone on the outside looking in—over thirty million stable, which is precisely how I originally started this series, hence the title. Groups such as SCS Global, Carbon Neutral and large corporations define and refine the intersection of three areas in the definition of sustainability (everyone has their own special nomenclature). This definition necessarily involves three components. 1. Environment . Without a healthy environment, people and animals won’t exist so we must start and continually cycle back to this crucial component. Under all things pro-environment, there seem to be three consistent subgroups under an environmental heading. Those are, in order of media attention and corporate intervention and profitability, the following: - Carbon emissions, i.e. what we need to reduce to zero.Now the check books come out. In the next issue, we’ll learn how expensive it is to go green, or even try. Certifications are paid for and “in the process maybe earned.” It’s just too early to tell if it’s working. Who’s setting the prices, who’s controlling it in our sector, and how does a framed “sustainability certification” next to the cash register really do anything to get us closer to the Earth? - Resources, as in renewable resources, and/or using certain materials or elements to our advantage, e.g. water flow as a form of renewable energy or turning waste into fuel. - Biodiversity (biological diversity) speaks to all living things, on the surface, below and above: Earth, water, sky and the variety of living organisms in these spaces. 2. Economic. Under this umbrella, we examine what the whole life cost is,from prenatal to death and all the necessary and unnecessary (pampering) spending. Defining the median life cost is broken down to help dollars a year in advertising spend, plus a “refocused” B2b and B2C diamond assembly with more natural diamond organizations than you can count. None of this, though, equals stability. But habits are hard to break and sometimes it’s easier to keep playing yesterday’s role than adapting to change. Again, the one universal opposition to being stable is change. But change is afoot. Mines have closed and more will. Those that are operating are yielding less gem- quality stones and are moving towards “lesser than.” The exact same term that natural diamond folks imply about the comparison with man-made gems that are, to them, merely a “thorn-in-the-side” stones. The stability side is incredibly resistant to change. On the flip side, “sustainability,” according to the EPA is “everything that we need for our survival and well- being…” Allow me to extend a communal, be it digital, olive branch. Let it serve as a symbol of what we all should strive for: Peace. But to get to peace, we need truth and we need trust. Aligned with trust is teamwork. If you accept this olive branch, let me know. Please visit https://tinyurl.com/DP-LGM-2021 to join the conversation. Advertisers and readers of Diamond Pulse and Lab Grown Magazine are all welcome to comment. Please send your suggestions, your industry concerns, your insights and how we may work together as one for all. Dan Scott is the founder and brand architect of Luxe Licensing, a New York/metro marketing firm. Dan enjoys brand and marketing discussions and welcomes conversation. He may be reached at LuxeLicensing.com or dans@luxelicensing.com . ◊