Could Fairtrade diamonds soon be on your jewellery wish-list?

There is mention of a prospective exciting new Fairtrade development in Greg Valerio’s latest blog post! Having just been named as one of the 3 shortlisted entrants in the Global Campaigner section of The Observer’s Ethical Awards 2011, Greg has begun to conquer the Fairtrade and Fairmined gold world after years of tireless campaigning and developmental work. And now Greg seems to have set his sights on diamonds!



Could diamonds become Fairtrade?



Opulent Ethics have previously talked about the Kimberley Process and how it is not living up to its word in our “Is the Kimberley Process ruining Zimbabwe and can it ever work?” post from 31^st October 2010. At the time Opulent Ethics questioned whether, after making devastating decisions such as allowing Zimbabwean Marange Field Diamonds to be sold with Kimberley Process backing, it would ever be able to recover and whether the Kimberley Process could ever be trusted by retailers the world over.

Under the ideas being proposed by Greg Valerio certain diamond cooperatives would come under the auspices of the Fairtrade Labelling Organisation. In order to achieve Fairtrade certification it is expected that diamond miners would have to reach similar rigorous standards to those attained by Fairtrade and Fairmined Gold mines in South America.

This would include transparency throughout the entire supply chain, equal pay for all, improved working conditions, assurances that the environment being mined is not being exploited and that once mining ceases that the area will be returned to a natural, sustainable locale. Of course, any Fairtrade development would only work with small-scale mining communities rather than large-scale mining companies and the additional Fairtrade premiums paid would go back into improving community infrastructure and conditions.

So is this all possible and could it ever provide ethically minded jewellers and consumers with the peace of mind they want? Well I am sure that Greg and others were wondering whether Fairtrade gold would ever be possible 10 years ago and look at it now; being worn on the Oscars Red Carpet by Olivia Firth and then being sold by Christies for Oxfam for £25,000, having some of the top jewellers in the UK signed up as Fairtrade Gold License Holders and having its own Hallmark.



Fairtrade and Fairmined gold bar which was unveiled on Feb 14th 2011



So Opulent Ethics believe 100% that Fairtrade diamonds can, and will be achieved. It will just take lots more hard work and campaigning from all involved. Good luck Greg!

That’s all for now….

Birmingham’s Spring Fair lacks in the ethics department

Opulent Ethics visited the 2011 Spring Fair at Birmingham’s NEC this week where there were over 400 exhibitors at the Jewellery Show section with new designers and big names rubbing shoulders.
Despite all of this we were disappointed by the lack of anything much ethical on the agenda. 

26 free seminars including trend talks, information on marketing for e-commerce and lectures on Intellectual Property rights were available but, sadly, only 1 of these concerned ethics. Opulent Ethics find it very strange that there was so much interest in ethics at IJL 2010 back in September and then come February of the following year, on the eve of Fairtrade gold being released the only mention is 1 talk on the pro’s and con’s of buying Fair Trade.

Of course there were some wonderful pieces of jewellery on show, especially in the Design Section, and it was great to find that there were some ethical exhibitors including Sara Preisler, Leju Designs, Earth Works and Out of Peru but we felt that we really had to search them out.

Sara Preisler pendant

Sarah Ho Mari earrings

James Newman rings

  

We here at Opulent Ethics think that it is a great shame that one of the biggest jewellery shows in the UK is not acknowledging one of the biggest issues in the jewellery trade and not making a point of highlighting a very important section of the trade.

So did we manage to find any evidence of other companies changing their ethics? Yes we did. After noticing some advertising on the side of the Weston Beamor stand and chatting to some of the staff we were pleasantly surprised to hear that Weston Beamor are now fully licensed to cast using Fairtrade gold. One disadvantage, however, is that anyone who wishes to cast using the gold also has to be licensed. Things are never easy or straightforward!

And elsewhere in the news; in Retail Jeweller magazine we managed to find a 55 word article on Ute Decker and Linnie McLarty’s Fairtrade gold pop-up shop which opens this week and a letter from Greg Valerio regarding the great work that ARM and FLO have done in bringing the Fairtrade gold idea to fruition. What is happening to this world when big news like the release of Fairtrade gold barely hits page 17 let alone the headlines?!   

That’s a very disappointed 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….   

Brilliantly Birmingham brings ethics to the table

Brilliantly Birmingham 2010 advert

Brilliantly Birmingham is an International contemporary jewellery festival which is now in its 11^th year showcasing talent and initiating discussion on topics which affect the jewellery industry. Brilliantly Birmingham originated in 1999 as somewhere that local jewellers and talent could come together with a shared interest. Now, in 2010, Brilliantly Birmingham is offering a mixture of exhibitions, workshops, talks and special events.

The reason that we are writing about Brilliantly Birmingham, apart from to help advertise it, is to draw attention to their decision to bring ethics to the agenda. One of the 4 talks being planned during the event this year is “Jewellery Ethics; Making and buying”.

Bringing together Fifi Bijoux (who produce luxury ethical jewellery), Kate Carter (the life and style editor, specialising in ethical fashion for The Guardian), Sara Preisler (a Birmingham based jeweller), Jack Cunningham (the Head of the School of Jewellery in Birmingham and a narrative jeweller) and a representative from the Fair Trade Foundation, this talk is billed as a conversational session offering thoughts and opinions on ethical jewellery matters.

It is a positive development to see ethics being broached by the largest jewellery-specific fair in the Midlands. The talk does, however, sound a little weak in its purpose. The topic “Making and buying” promises some information on how to turn yourself more ethical but it does not sound like the information provided will be particularly new. We here at Opulent Ethics hope to be proved wrong.

The involvement of the Fair Trade Foundation is exciting as they will be having further involvement with the jewellery industry as ethics become more mainstream. Opulent Ethics look forward to hearing what they bring to the conversation.

We are also looking forward to hearing from Fifi Bijoux who has been producing ethical fine jewellery since 2006 and is one of the leading ethical jewellers in the UK. They donate profits to numerous worthy causes in Africa and display their transparent supply chain for all to see.

It is always a positive thing to see ethics being brought to the table at national and international meetings and shows and Opulent Ethics hopes that Brilliantly Birmingham, which runs from November 27^th 2010 until the 9^th January 2011, manages to steer ethics into the limelight within the Birmingham Jewellery Industry and helps keep it there for the future.

That’s all for now….

Keeping ethics in the spotlight and increasing participation

The old adage that “All publicity is good publicity” is not always true especially with a subject as volatile and far reaching as Fair Trade, ethics and green issues. Everyone has an opinion ranging from the denial of global warming at one end of the scale to ethical fantasists at the other.

Within the fashion industry principles of sustainability and ethical standards are already rife and constantly growing, improving and becoming more accepted. So how do we bring the jewellery industry in line with our fashion counterparts? How do we keep pushing developments? And, for those of us who are already ethical in our work, how do we disclose this without sounding like we are patronising others for not being so?

Fashion and jewellery have developed side by side over many generations. The two have overlapped regularly never more so than when fashion jewellery emerged. This recent arm of the jewellery industry works in the same way as the fashion industry with styles, colours, shapes and designs changing on a seasonal basis. The Fine Jewellery sector of the market also follows this but at a less rapid speed.

The most necessary factor in shifting the jewellery industry towards being more ethical is a genuine interest in the issues concerned by those trying to change. Opulent Ethics believes that Companies who become ethical for the sole intention of attracting more customers are almost as bad as those who ignore the issues altogether.

There are always stories about the plight of the environment and the peoples involved in the jewellery industry supply chain. In recent years we have seen the spotlight focusing on the Blood Diamond film, the Marange Diamond Fields in Zimbabwe, Naomi Campbell’s involvement in the Blood Diamond trial of the ex-Liberian leader Charles Taylor, the campaign to save Alaska’s Bristol Bay from being mined…the list goes on and on.    

The story behind the Ethical Fashion Forum (EFF), a non-profit organisation, also rings true for the jewellery industry. The EFF started with a group of individuals and small companies who were concerned about the impact their business-actions had on others. From initial meetings came the idea to share and disseminate relevant information, to share supplier and manufacturer information and to help spread the word about what they were doing and why to the larger fashion community.

Today the EFF has over 3000 members in 73 countries all networking, sharing new developments and information and taking part in the numerous events and shows arranged by the forum. The EFF is also as successful as it is due to its collaborations with big names in the fashion world which attracts the attention of students and new designers as well as the world’s media.

There are already inklings of similar organisations within the ethical jewellery industry with the start of the Fair Jewellery Action website which has the on-going intention of combining the knowledge and experience of established ethical jewellers including Greg Valerio, Marc Choyt, Cred Jewellery and Ute Decker. Each of these founder members has far reaching contacts which should be encouraged to join the revolution and then, hopefully, an Ethical Jewellery Forum may begin.

Developments within jewellery are happening constantly but consistent consumer pressure may be what the industry needs to really make big steps toward change. A large percentage of the jewellery industry population don’t know or care about ethical issues but as bigger names are catching on and becoming involved this will change. There is so much family history within the industry with many companies set in their ways and following their heritage rather than forward thinking developments. This is going to be a challenge to change.

There are numerous companies which already produce jewellery in an ethical or sustainable way. Some choose to overtly publicise their ethical intentions (Oria, Leblas, Cred, Fifi Bijoux, Avasarah) whilst other make changes quietly without pushing their choices at their consumers (Ute Decker, Bario-Neal, Daisy Knights, Saretta).  

Opulent Ethics is unsure about which of these works best but knows that both are as important as the other and that we need more companies like this to keep making changes. And whichever way a designer decides to go, transparency has got to be the key. At this early stage of setting up ethics as a serious sector of the jewellery industry it is important for designers to be realistic in what they can achieve and practice what they say in order to ensure that ethics does not keep coming to the fore in a negative light.

Overall, the best thing that anyone can do is share their findings, suppliers and experiences either through their products and advertising or by becoming members of groups or wiki-sites such as the Fair Jewellery Action website. Also, be prepared to talk to those who ask about a piece of ethical jewellery being worn and the reasons for wearing it. You may find that you end up having the same conversation again and again but, yes another antonym is being used, baby steps are a good start point.

That’s it for now….