New Age Exploitation

“Do You Know Where Your Healing Crystals Come From?” (New Republic):

After three record-breaking hurricanes hammered America last year, the influential spiritual healer Heather Askinosie wrote a blog post for the Earth. “The recent barrage of megastorms we’ve witnessed has inspired some sobering reflections on the effects we are having on our planet,” she wrote on Mindbodygreen.com, a lifestyle site with millions of followers. “So what can we do to show our love and appreciation for the role that Earth plays in our lives?”

The answer, she wrote, can be found in healing crystals.

Askinosie cited three naturally occurring minerals to help readers “connect to the Earth you’re fighting to protect.” Jasper can “help you gain a broader awareness of your personal impact.” Clear quartz is a “perfect crystal for plotting out new beginnings.” And bloodstone—which is a dark green with red splatters—“helps you to see how essential the fate of the earth is, and take your intention seriously.”

I tried to track down the sources of crystals sold on popular websites. I found that some were mined in countries with notoriously lax labor and environmental regulations, and some came from large-scale U.S. mines that have contaminated ecosystems and drinking water.

Crystal sellers don’t want to talk about where their products come from. Goop, actress Gwyneth Paltrow’s lifestyle company, didn’t respond to requests for comment about the eight small healing crystals in its $85 “medicine bag” or its $84 water bottle containing “an obelisk-like amethyst crystal to infuse water with positive energy.”

In the Democratic Republic of Congo, for example, children as young as seven work the mines, and cobalt and copper mines in the country’s Katanga region are rich in minerals like tourmaline, amethyst, citrine, blue and smoky quartz—all coveted by healing crystal sellers.

Related:

• Sarah Silverman talks about the jewel that she wants, which requires “deboning Ethiopian babies”