We visited one of our stone wholesalers in March 2023. The reception was warm and relaxed. Right from the start, we were given a quick tour of the warehouse and where each product was located, as the warehouse was on two floors. We could view, try, and photograph products independently throughout the day. We could even choose each product by hand, even the tumbled stones!

The visit to the wholesaler was eye-opening. Our existing trust in the company grew even further when we got to see the operations firsthand and talk with the employees and the CEO. This particular company has several decades of experience in importing and wholesaling stones.

For us at Ametistikissa, the transparency and accessibility of all our wholesale partners are important. We have chosen companies with whom communication is smooth and carefree. These companies openly share information about their mine visits on their websites and include pictures and videos from their visits. We also follow our wholesalers on social media, where we can see in real-time where their employees are visiting. Our wholesale partners do not use mines they cannot visit themselves. Ensuring an ethical supply chain is a challenging process for them too, as there is no single entity that monitors the implementation of fair trade and the rights of workers in mines.

Our experienced and respected wholesalers aim to prevent this problem by working only with other respected wholesalers, merchants, and family businesses. This is the only way to combat a difficult situation and the best way to ensure an ethical and environmentally friendly outcome. They work systematically for the ethics and ecology of the industry and do not use suppliers who cannot prove the ethics of their products. It is important to our wholesale partners that they regularly receive visual material from the sources from which they receive products, as the well-being of employees is paramount. Packaging materials for each product are intended to be reused by them and further by Ametistikissa.

In this industry, the ethics of products are a much-discussed topic, which is important. It is every entrepreneur's responsibility to find a suitable intermediary whose values align with their own. It is the entrepreneur's responsibility to find suppliers who are open about their operations and do their best regarding product ethics. It is the entrepreneur's responsibility to continuously gather information and educate themselves on the subject so that they can make better choices, which in turn allows consumers to make more sustainable choices.

You can find a summary of the wholesale visit on our TikTok account @ametistikissa.