Earlier this month, the UK pop star Ellie Goulding appeared at a London store opening from the jewelry band Boodles and modeled some of their pink diamonds. Upon learning that those diamonds came from the Argyle diamond mine, located on Indigenous land in Western Australia, Goulding, a noted environmental advocate, has apologized for failing to uphold her own values.
Goulding shared an apologetic statement with the Mirror, saying:
Protecting the environment is a cause close to my heart. I always strive to uphold those values. Regretfully, in this instance, I fell short. I was not aware of the concerns surrounding the Argyle mine, and I am grateful that it has been brought to my attention.
You will certainly not see me wearing diamonds originating from the Argyle mine again. The Indigenous and local communities affected deserve better. While I am mortified to have made this error in judgement, I am letting this moment serve as a reminder and an opportunity to continue to question the status quo, to learn and do better.
As the Mirror reports, a week before the Boodles store opening that Goulding attended, the company bought the Argyle pink diamonds from the mining company Rio Tanto, which maintained the Argyle mine, earlier this month. The company shut down the mine itself in 2020, after 37 years of production. Indigenous activists in the area have long warned of the devastating environmental effects of the Argyle mine, and Goulding herself has accused mining companies of "destroying" ancestral lands.
At the Boodles store opening, Goulding served as guest of honor and said that the pink diamonds were "so elegant and iconic." There's certainly some dissonance between that and her various roles as an environmental advocate, for which she was made an MBE earlier this year. She also serves as an ambassador for the WWF, the environmental organization that has cautioned celebrities against endorsing luxury good without researching the impacts that they make. In a statement, the WWF says, "Ellie is a passionate advocate for nature and human rights and has championed the rights of Indigenous peoples as a WWF ambassador. We have discussed this issue with Ellie and continue to value her support."
In a statement to The Guardian, the Gelganyem Group, which represents the Indigenous people who serve as the land's traditional owners, says, "Gelganyem chair Kia Dowell, a Gija woman, acknowledges Ellie Goulding’s apology and welcomes her recognition that Indigenous and local communities deserve better. She hopes it helps the public and Rio Tinto shareholders understand what is at stake at Argyle and the standard Rio Tinto’s mine closure must meet."