Read all about it; the standards behind Fair Trade gold

Opulent Ethics have been talking about the release of Fair Trade gold for quite a while now but we thought it was about time we looked a bit deeper into what makes Fair Trade gold special.

The launch of Fair Trade gold coincides with the most romantic day of the year; Valentines Day. Despite all the love in the air, Opulent Ethics thought it was important to understand what makes this gold Fair Trade? Who is certifying it? And how can we get involved?

Fairtrade and Fairmined gold

We all know about Fair Trade premiums which are paid to coffee pickers, cotton pickers and fruit growers currently working under Fair Trade principles and that these premiums help 7.5 million people worldwide, but how does this apply to gold miners?

Under the new standards, pure, unrefined Fair Trade gold will be bought at a minimum of 95% of the London Bullion Market Association price. This price threshold is set within the principles of the scheme meaning a certain level of security for those involved.   

On top of the 95% price 2 premiums are paid. 10% extra is paid for the gold as a Fair Trade Social Premium. This money goes to the community rather than a co-operative of miners or a mining company, and is used to improve amenities and services such as education, health, water and electricity. This ensures that Fair Trade is reaching more than just those who work for them.

An additional 5% will be paid for gold which is mined without the use of damaging chemicals and to miners who work to restore the mining area to its natural habitat once mining has ceased. The restoration process is ongoing and aims to work with the natural ecology of the area whilst bringing more money in. For example, an area may be replanted with native crops which can then be farmed for additional income.

Where chemicals are currently being used the Fair Trade system is working towards ensuring that they are used and disposed of as safely as possible without damage to humans or the environment. The overall aim is to stop the use of chemicals and rely on natural mining techniques. 

The Fairtrade Foundation is working towards giving the mining co-operatives more power by cutting out middle men. In doing this the actual miners are receiving more money for the gold and healthy markets and competition are encouraged. This extra power also brings increased confidence within communities.

Finally, the money made from Fair Trade gold will not go towards funding conflict and the Fairtrade Foundation hope to bring increased stability to areas where conflict may occur.

Fair Trade gold is being certified by 2 separate organisations. The Fair Labelling Organisation’s (FLO) UK member; the Fairtrade Foundation and the Association for Responsible Mining (ARM). The FLO control and apply sanctions to the use of the Fair Trade mark and the ARM are providing the second, ecological mark to the cause. Both are rigorous in ensuring that internationally recognised standards are rigorously met.

So how can we help? The 2 new hallmarks; Fair Trade gold and Fair Mined gold, mean that there is now a visual reference for our consumer decisions and we can decide to purchase these items rather than non-Fair Trade gold items, just like we do with our tea and chocolate.

Fairtrade and Fairmined hallmarks

Also, as consumers, we can use our voice. If your favourite jewellery store or designer do not use Fair Trade gold then you can ask them why. Consumer opinion is a very strong tool and, when used wisely, can lead to the lives of others being improved.

And if there are any jewellery makers out there who are wondering how to get involved then you can register as a license holder by contacting Victoria Waugh at the Fairtrade Foundation (gold@fairtrade.org.uk) who will be able to explain the process and its benefits to you.

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….