An overview on recycled metal providers (see links below) and the reasons behind them can be found at: The Responsible Jewelry Council http://www.responsiblejewellery.com Christine Dein's "Green Jewelry News" email newsletter http://www.christinedhein.com/about.html Ethical Metalsmiths http://www.ethicalmetalsmiths.org No Dirty Gold http://www.nodirtygold.org/ Earth Justice http://earthjustice.org Hoover & Strong http://www.hooverandstrong.com/blog/archives/117/ National Geographic Magazine The Real Price of Gold http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2009/01/gold/larmer-text more links about the real