The price of going ethical

Whenever you tell anyone that you are an ethical jeweller the question most people ask is “how much more money does it cost?” It appears that the world view of ethical and environmental products is that they cost more money. So is this true for ethical jewellery or can we produce our jewellery for a price relative to non-ethical jewellery?

The city view Fair Trade and ethical products in a purely financial way and this should be the way that we also aim to work. Products should be sourced responsibly but in a cost effective way. Mass production is cheaper than bespoke one-off products so it is important to find where and how mass production techniques can be undertaken at a reasonable price and within the a way that fits our ethos.

That is not to say that ethical jewellery cannot be bespoke but the mark-up price will have to be significant to cover other extra costs.

During our time using ethically sourced materials Opulent Ethics has always paid the same price for recycled silver as for non-recycled silver. We source our recycled silver from Cred who base their price on the daily Cookson pricing of silver.

Fair Trade gold is not the same. On average Fair Trade gold is 10% above the gold spot price whereas ecologically mined Fair Trade gold is 15% above the daily gold spot price. Currently, this means that buyers are paying an extra £4 for their Fair Trade gold per gram.

It must be remembered, though, that this additional money is going to do good. It supports the small-scale mines and communities which mine the materials. Some of the money goes towards improving infrastructure, education and health facilities ensuring that the lives of the people who work and live near the mines are improved.

It is possible that some money may go to middle men. So if you want to reduce costs you should ensure that you obtain your products, where possible, direct from the source or from responsible, reputable suppliers.

David Hargreaves, from Fair Trade Gemstones said during the Great Debate at International Jewellery London (IJL) this summer that the future aim for ethical jewellery is to have 5% of the jewellery market in 15 years producing and using 5 tonnes of fair trade gold per year. This is still a long way off but is definitely a reachable goal.

Small designers may not be able to afford to be 100% ethical yet so it is important to ensure that costs of ethical materials become manageable and in relation to non-ethical materials and the hope is that, over time, costs will be reduced and may even become equal.

It is, therefore, important that small designer makers like Opulent Ethics continue to pledge our support for ethical jewellery by working with the materials we can afford and by promoting ethical jewellery to our contacts and customers. Then, hopefully one day soon the costs of ethical jewellery can become more manageable.

That’s all for now….  

Mine with care as mine we must!

This is a quote from David Hargreaves the head of Fair Trade Gemstones, a family run business. As a mining engineer with over 25 years experience in mining development and consulting on diamonds and colored stones within the industry you might not be surprised to hear David Hargreaves say this. It is, however, truer than you might think.

David Hargreaves has helped develop mines in Africa which are now viewed as early examples of fair trade mining practice. As a miner himself, he understands and has developed mines which reflect and uphold his personal principles and, after hearing him take part in the Great Debate at IJL in September we can assure you his principles appear to be wholly Fair Trade and ethical.

No one denies that mining causes massive physical destruction not just from the masses of earth that is removed but also from the chemicals used in metal-mining processes. So, why then, would anyone who is ethically mined be happy with mining continuing?   

In today’s society metals are used in many parts of our lives; decoration, like jewellery, photography, medical uses, as part of the water purification process, in batteries and electrical equipment and as a catalyst to convert chemicals into the plastics we use in clothing, packaging, car parts and toys. So it is easy to see why David Hargreaves believes that society cannot function without mining. So does it all have to be that bad? 

We hear often about the negative impact of mining. The No Dirty Gold Campaign was started by Earthworks to draw attention to the negative impacts of gold mining on the environment and the people who work and live in the surrounding areas. But recently there has been the start of a very small light at the end of a very long tunnel…or mine shaft.

Tiffany, yes that’s right, Tiffany & Co the American design house and jewellery store chain which has been around since 1837 and has its flagship store on the corner of 5^th Avenue and 57^th Street in Manhattan, now sources all its yellow diamonds through its gem company, Laurelton Diamonds, from the Ellendale mine in north-western Australia.

Tiffany has become synonymous with yellow diamonds after Charles Tiffany acquired the most famous 128.54 carat yellow, or fancy, Tiffany diamond which is now on display in the Manhattan flagship store. Only 2 women have ever worn the jewel; Mrs Sheldon Whitehouse (wife of a member of the famous US political family) and Audrey Hepburn in the publicity photos for Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

Tiffany Yellow Diamond set in Jean Schlumberger's Bird On A Rock Brooch

Ellendale diamond field currently produces approximately 50% of the world’s fancy and vivid yellow diamonds which are this colour due to the presence of nitrogen within the ground when the diamonds were being formed. So what makes the Ellendale mine preferable to other mines elsewhere? 

Most obviously, the mine is in Australia so all 257 employees receive fair pay and benefits including travel expenses, safety is taken very seriously so medical checks and drug and drink tests are regularly carried out and all machinery is regularly checked. 12% of the work force comes from indigenous groups and both men and women are employed.

No-one was displaced in order for the mine to be started and Kimberley Diamond Company, who own the mine, are putting money into retaining the surrounding wetlands and animal habitats. Environmental staff are consulted with and the only chemical used is sodium nitrate which is safely used in fertilisers and as a food additive.

But despite being good in many ways the mine is still displacing 14,740 tonnes of earth for every 600 carats of diamonds found. That equates to 14,740 tonnes for 120 grammes of diamonds; a massive amount. It is then more shocking to learn that up to 20% of these stones are then not considered good enough for use in the diamond industry. So we are then down to 14,740 tonnes of earth for 96 grammes of diamonds. Those stones which are considered good enough are then shipped to Antwerp for cutting, whereby some of the diamond is cleaved away to facet the stone into something useable before heading for the Tiffany design house.

   

So are the Ellendale and Tiffany collaborative mines and David Hargreaves’ ethically set up mines the best we have on offer? At the minute; yes. Opulent Ethics feel that mining will continue, beautiful stones will be sought after and if ethical jewellers are not to fall behind in the design stakes then sourcing our stones somewhere where we can verify their origin and passage through the supply chain to us is the best we can currently do. Alternatively we can continue to recycle stones from existing jewellery or try to buy from small family-run mines; another minefield in itself!

Bye for now….   

How ethical was IJL 2010?

Having recently visited International Jewellery London (IJL) in early September we at Opulent Ethics were astonished by the number of complimentary seminars which focused on ethical issues within the jewellery trade. IJL say they are dedicated to promoting and investing in current issues which affect the industry but we were impressed that 5 of the 48 seminars, nearly 10%, were related to ethical jewellery.

Three of the seminars made up the crowning glory of the seminar programme; The Great Debate. Sadly, we were only able to attend the final seminar in the series; Ethical Jewellery – from ideal to reality, which brought together David Hargreaves from Fairtrade Gemstones, Jonathan Lambert from Ethically Precious and Ute Decker from Ute Decker Sculptural Jewellery. Whilst the debate started slowly the topics soon being covered included; sourcing issues, traceability, whether ethical jewellery can be a viable business plan and the best way to convey ethical intentions.    

Throughout the debate David Hargreaves, who has worked with mining companies for years stressed that mining is now integral to modern society and will not end. We should, therefore, be moving towards mining with care. His company, Fairtrade Gemstones has 100% traceability from source mines to retail and is able to offer for sale most stones. David Hargreaves also believes that the City view ethics in a purely financial way and that if ethical jewellery is to become a viable business it will be necessary for ethical brands to offer their products at an equal price point to non-ethical brands.

Jonathan Lambert spoke about changing consumer opinion by bringing ethical jewellery to the high street which he is doing with his Chaos collection. He also believes that you must have confidence in your products to be able to help spread the word about ethics.

Ute Decker responded to questions regarding how to get the ethical message across. Ute Decker feels that conversation is the way forward. She always wears pieces of her sculptural jewellery and uses them to spark interest and conversation, without which, non-ethically conscious people will not become aware of the issues.

Overall, The Great Debate and IJL are valuable tools for ensuring ethics becomes more widespread within the trade but there are still problems. Certification and standardization is required throughout the ethical supply chain. One of the companies which should be at the front of this is the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) who chaired The Great Debate. After questions regarding their intentions, the RJC were forced to admit that, despite having 250 members, and aiming to make their mandate industry-wide, they are yet to audit any of their members and this may take up to 2 years to complete. Still a long way to go!

Other seminars attended by Opulent Ethics included The Impact of Green Issues On-line. This was given by Michelle Tuck the Creative Director of Avasarah an ethical jewellery company and e-tailer. Whilst most of this seminar covered well trodden ground she did bring one new issue to our attention. Whilst speaking about how social media is the new way to call for change she also explained that by using these sites we open our brands up to being owned as much by our consumers as by ourselves due to freedom of speech. This is definitely something we at Opulent Ethics will be thinking about in the future.

Finally we attended Ute Decker’s Ethical Jewellery – how business and designers can become more ethical in their trading and production. Of all the seminars we attended this was by far the most useful and most well attended. Ute Decker spoke openly and frankly about the pitfalls of making ethical jewellery and her reasons for choosing to do so. The practical information she supplied was as relevant and helpful to those who are starting out or trying to become more ethical as it was to those who are already working ethically. Topics covered included suppliers of materials, office supplies, hosting sites and energy suppliers. For all this information and more visit the ethical jewellery resources section of Ute Decker's website. She also spoke at length about Fair Trade gold and its future developments but we will talk about this in another post though as we think this is enough for our first outing!

Bye for now....