Sustainability issues for natural stone
The market for natural stone is growing. It is used for floors, kitchen worktops, gravestones and cemetery monuments, pavements and building façades. Until recently, natural stone was largely obtained from European countries, but now it is more cheaply sourced from low-wage countries, such as Brazil, China and India.
What is wrong?
Information gathered in India indicates these problems:
- heavy, dangerous work in quarries, with high temperatures and excessive dust
- use of child labour, mainly in manual cutting of cobblestones
- poor housing for migrant labourers
- illegal mining in protected environmental areas
- adverse impacts on water supplies and the landscape
The problems are not always present, nor do they occur everywhere to the same extent. But their existence is reason for natural stone companies and sector associations to take action to prevent them. A number of Dutch companies, and one in Belgium, have already endorsed the code of conduct and will ensure that their suppliers also comply with it. The number of endorsing companies is expected to increase rapidly. The label will soon inform consumers about the differences so they can choose sustainably produced natural stone.
Working on the label