Opulent Ethics starts a new glittering gold journey

It will be a short entry today.

Opulent Ethics are just starting out on our journey to become a license holder for Fair Trade gold. We are currently unsure of the processes involved in gaining the Fairtrade and Fairmined gold license and how long it will take.

We will, however, let you know as we go along what we have to do and how we are getting on so that anyone else who is considering becoming a license holder may have an idea of what to do.

So far we have registered our interest in becoming a license holder by downloading and completing the Business Overview Questionnaire on the Fairtrade Foundation’s website.

We will post updates on what and when we have to do things as they happen.

That’s all for now….   

Fairtrade fortnight festivities!

The last couple of weeks has been the annual Fairtrade Fortnight; a two week homage to all things Fairtrade. You may have been to one of the craft fairs which have been taking place or noticed that Fairtrade events have been plastered all over Facebook and Twitter. Whatever you have bought, seen or done over the past two weeks they all make a difference.

Fairtrade Fortnight 2011 poster

According to recent research undertaken by the Fairtrade Foundation, awareness of Fairtrade Fortnight this year was up by 10 million people since Fairtrade Fortnight 2010. That is a massive increase. Opulent Ethics hopes it keeps going.

If you have been on the Fairtrade Foundation website you will have noticed the massive amount of work that they have put into the event; encouraging Fairtrade towns, schools and church groups to take part, offering awards for those supporters who have really bent over backwards to raise awareness and even setting daily challenges on Facebook and Twitter to get you involved.

Of course, Fairtrade has already had an enormous impact on the jewellery industry so far this year with the release of Fairtrade and Fairmined gold on Valentines Day. This was then followed by the announcement that the wedding rings worn by Prince William and Kate Middleton may be Fairtrade. You can be just like Opulent Ethics and sign the GoPetition petition to convince the royal couple that their rings will be more beautiful if they use Fairtrade gold. And then there was Livia Firth wearing Fairtrade gold and a dress made of 11 other dresses on the Oscars Red Carpet. Busy busy busy!

Livia Firth wearing Anna Loucah's Fairtrade gold ring for the 2011 Oscars

And why is this of so much importance? Well, according to the Fairtrade Foundation there are 7.5 million people who work under Fairtrade principles to improve their lifestyles and communities and it is events like those taking place during Fairtrade Fortnight which are needed to continue raising awareness and increasing the numbers of people and communities that Fairtrade can reach out to.

With Fairtrade profits and participants rising year on year 2011 is going to be another exciting and busy year for all those who are involved. So well done to all who took part and keep up the hard work!

That’s all for now….

Ute Decker and Linnie McLarty’s pop-art!

Everything has a “pop” to it these days…pop tarts, pop art, pop music, even pop-up shops and the latest is a pop up gallery. Taking place on

Columbia Road

in Hackney, an area renowned for its sweet smelling Sunday Flower Market this month long exhibition space definitely has the snap, crackle and pop!

Opulent Ethics were lucky enough to be invited to the preview evening on Thursday where we got to view some of the first Fairtrade gold nuggets which goes on sale on Monday 14^th February.

Both Ute Decker’s and Linnie McLarty’s jewellery looked stunning in its new home in Gallery 94 at 94 Columbia Road. There had been an amazing transformation of the space from, what is normally, a fully-functioning workshop, into a sleek, clean beautiful display space for the 2 designer-makers.

Both Ute and Linnie created new pieces which will be produced in the world’s first Fairtrade gold from Cotapata Mine in Bolivia, when it becomes available on Valentines Day. Alongside these beautiful new pieces were ranges of Ute Decker’s sculptural jewellery made from recycled silver and sunflower bio-resin and Linnie McLarty’s colourful, enamelled, clever brooches and hand-made jewellery.

Ute Decker's PURE Arm Sculpture in gold

Linnie McClarty's Brooch

So how did the jewellery look in Fairtrade gold? Did it have an extra sparkle to it? Ute believes that;

“you first fall in love with this jewellery because of the beauty, boldness, and uniqueness of it‘s appearance, and then you learn about it’s inner beauty and ethical make-up and fall in love all over again”.

And Opulent Ethics has to agree. This new gold signifies actual improvements in the lives and environment of mining communities.

And it certainly seems to have got people talking. Esteemed guests at the event included Maurice Mullen from the Evening Standard, Laura McCreddie Editor at Retail Jeweller, Muriel Wilson from the Association of Contemporary Jewellery, Victoria Waugh from the Fairtrade Foundation and Della Tinsley, the Managing Director of London Jewellery Week.

But, more importantly, Juana Pena Endora from the Cotapata Cooperative in Bolivia, the world's first Fairtrade and Fairmined mine, and Manuel Reinoso Rivas, a Peruvian miner and Vice-Chair for the Alliance for Responsible Mining in Peru were in attendance. Both miners had experienced flying and left their respective countries for the first time to take part in the release of Fairtrade gold in the UK. So far they have attended and spoken at events in London, met with those who will be working with the gold, such as Weston Beamor who will be licensed to cast using the gold, at Birmingham’s Jewellery Show and, when we spoke to them, were on their way to Wales to see how mining in the UK compares to that at home.

Opulent Ethics thinks that it was truly valuable and inspiring to see and meet these people who work day and night to acquire the materials that we use to produce our work. These are the people who are fighting to make changes for themselves and their communities and are the people that initiatives, such as Fairtrade gold, is trying to reach. We think that it is time for the curtain to rise and for names and faces to be put to the millions of people who are involved in small-scale, artisanal mining and who have been anonymous for too long.   

For both Juana and Manuel their journey seems to have been an eye-opening education but, hopefully, may have reassured them that they are not alone in their fight. Some of the biggest names in jewellery are now coming together to improve the chances of Fairtrade gold and, by default, those whose lives are entangled in its production.

During the evening Juana was presented with one of Linnie’s silver Chrysanthemum rings which she had tried on in gold earlier in the evening. This generous gift by Linnie was met with incredulity and tears. Hopefully it will be taken back to Bolivia as a symbol of the hope and faith that we all have in the success of Fairtrade and Fairmined gold and, more importantly, in the belief that we can all work together to improve the lives of Juanas and Manuels everywhere.   

      

 

Juana Pena Endora wearing Linnie McClarty's Chrysanthemum Ring in gold

For further information and photos of the evening please see Ute Decker’s website. For other stories regarding the release of Fairtrade and Fairmined gold please see the Professional Jeweller website. And if you wish to see the beautiful jewellery for yourself, Gallery 94 is open until Sunday 27^th February and is definitely worth a look.

That’s all for now….

Birmingham becomes ethically Brilliant!

So Brilliantly Birmingham has come to an end but not before a great talk on ethical jewellery was held. The talk, titled “Jewellery Ethics; Making and Buying” didn’t seem to stick to what it said on the tin but in this case, that was not necessarily a bad thing.

 Brilliantly Birmingham poster

Even before anyone began talking the line-up was like a who’s who of ethical celebrity. On the panel was Vivien Johnston the founder of ethical company Fifi Bijoux, Jack Cunningham the Head of Birmingham’s School of Jewellery, Sara Preisler a Birmingham based sculptural jeweller, Fairtrade Foundation representative Greg Valerio and the panel was led by Kate Carter, The Guardian’s ethical fashion extraordinaire.

Each gave a lecture on their backgrounds, interests and how and why they are interested in ethics before a question session was opened up to the public. Vivien Johnston spoke about how she took ethical practices into account when considering her business plan as she set Fifi Bijoux up. We here at Opulent Ethics think that considering our ethical beliefs as we set up our business rather than as an add on at a later date is integral to being a successful ethical jeweller and we hope that this business advice will stand us in good stead when Opulent Ethics is fully set up.

Fifi Bijoux bangle

Fifi Bijoux is an aspirational brand which encourages its consumers to buy into their story. Having spent time sourcing materials for another company Vivien Johnston was determined that all materials used in Fifi Bijoux’s pieces would be traceable, of a high standard and have a chain of custody which can be validated. Ms Johnston founded the British Ethical Jewellery Association as a way of forcing ethics in jewellery into the mainstream.

Jack Cunningham played devil’s advocate by talking about how the jewellery industry as a whole is the dirtiest industry going and that all jewellers know this. Opulent Ethics felt that this was an interesting point which deserved to be made and, coming from a jeweller who is not yet ethical, it reiterates the fact that ethics as an issue is rising and soon, no-one in the industry will be able to shy away from it.

Next, Sara Preisler went on to discuss what beauty is. Obviously the answer to this is personal to us all but Sara Preisler made a very interesting point about why beauty surrounds preciousness and asked who decides gold and diamonds are precious? She went on to suggest that, by individual jewellers and consumers moving away from bling then we may make a change in how materials are considered. Opulent Ethics are currently experimenting with this idea by using vegetable ivory in their next range. We will let you know how we get on!

Sara Preisler cufflinks

Finally, Greg Valerio spoke very passionately about how the Fair Trade movement is a good economic response to social injustice and that, whilst being helpful, recycling is not the full answer. Greg Valerio made a very interesting point about how the jewellery industry is very good at producing beautiful items whilst hiding the horror which is experienced at source. It led Opulent Ethics to think about what impact there would be on consumer opinion if we knew in detail about the destruction and terror which allows our jewellery to be produced. Opulent Ethics are now more determined than ever to be 100% ethical in our practices.

He also went on to talk about the Fair Trade Gold Hallmark which will be released in February (for Valentines Day) and how this is a massive step forward as there are now clearly defined standards which can be downloaded from the Fairtrade Labelling Organisation website. He also spoke about the plan to have 25 tonnes of Fair Trade gold sold in the UK over the next 15 years. For anyone who is interested in registering to use the Hallmark contact Victoria Waugh ( gold@fairtrade.org.uk ) for details.

So the overall message from this Brilliantly Birmingham talk is that ethical jewellery now has the start of a fairy tale story which can and will be pushed forward. Fair Trade gold is going to be all over the place in the run up to the release of the Hallmark so watch this space for more information.

So Happy New Year and that’s all for now….   

All you need to know about Oro Verde....

From this (Oro Verde panned gold)...

...to this (Stacey Whale's Oro Verde cuff)

You may have noticed that Oro Verde gold is becoming more prominent in the media recently and that the name Oro Verde is becoming synonymous with feel-good green jewellery. Because of this we thought it was about time we learnt more about all things Oro Verde.

Oro Verde gold and platinum come from the Choco Bioregion which is a 87,803 hectare piece of land that spans Panama, Columbia and Ecuador. The region has a very high rainfall making it one of the most lush climates in the world and the perfect home for the 9000 species of plants, 200 types of mammal, 600 species of bird, 100 different reptiles and 120 amphibians.

Alongside all this diverse flora and fauna live a human population of approximately 3,720,000 made up of multiple multi-ethic and indigenous communities. It is these communities which own the land that the gold and platinum is found on, who mine it and who hunt, fish and farm the land. It is estimated that between 80-85% of the families in some parts of the region are artisanal miners.

So what is artisanal mining and why is it done here and not in other metal-rich places?

The Choco Bioregion is rich in natural sources of platinum and gold. The high rainfall in the area helps wash the gold and platinum from the Andes down into lower lying lands which are inhabited by the Choco peoples. It is this movement of materials via natural water sources that allows miners to find metals in the streams and rivers when panning for or alluvially mining metals.

The region is renowned for its high metal content and has already been damaged by mining pollution and the run-off of harmful chemicals from metal treatment plants. This has been going on for hundreds of years already. So why is this changing now?

The scheme being run in the region; the Green Gold Programme, is fair, sustainable and protects the existing communities rather than the outsider who has come just for the metals. The land which makes up the Choco Bioregion is owned and run by the families and communities who have owned it for generations. This is recognised through a legally binding land title.

The Choco Bioregion came to be in 1999 through an alliance between local mining families who used traditional artisanal techniques, local community leaders who were looking to protect the local communities and those who wished to stop the humanitarian and environmental impact of mining which was being seen elsewhere in the area.

It was decided that the best way forward was to generate a sustainable income through programmes which were self-managed by those who lived there. This was also true of the development which comes with a sustainable income. The region also wanted to protect the amazing eco-systems which are found no-where else in the world.

Oro Verde and the Green Gold Programme support the entire supply chain from miner through to helping develop world markets where the product can be sold. This is an on-going project and is why we are seeing more and more about the programme over time. The thing that is so special about this project though is the way that knowledge is used. Best practice and useful knowledge is disseminated to other communities and things are implemented which will help a specific area. For example, land which is no longer used for mining is replanted using crops which are endemic to the region to ensure that the rainforests survive and continue to flourish but the land is also used to bolster that sustainable income by using crops which will continue to bring in profit. Everything that the programme does complies with environmental and social criteria.

And what of the actual metals? There is a premium of 10 or 15% on the metals dependant on whether they are Fair Trade or Fair Mined. This is certified through a system which started in 2004 when the Oro Verde project began working with the Association for Responsible Mining (ARM). Other partners of the scheme include Tiffany’s, Oxfam and the Fairtrade Foundation. The premium is used to invest in the development of the land and it is the families and communities which decide how this can best be done.

So how can we help? Because of the technique used, artisanal mining could never support our industry's current demand for metals but smaller companies who are committed to the work of this type of programme should definitely look to begin using Oro Verde gold and platinum. We here at Opulent Ethics hope to soon.

For a brilliant film which follows the Mosquera family whilst they mine in the Choco Bioregion where they live click here. 

That’s all for now….