Fair Jewellery Action

By Jesse Finfrock

Jesse Finfrock is Cofounder of The Clarity Project. The Clarity Project is a fair jewelry social enterprise dedicated to improving the quality of life for miners and their communities. ~ Marc Choyt, Publisher

(Photo Courtesy of Alliance for Responsible Mining, Guatemala.)

In late January, Martin Rapaport wrote that “blood diamonds from Marange, Zimbabwe, have been issued Kimberley Process (KP) certificates and imported into the cutting centers, where they were cut and polished and then sold to dealers, jewelry manufacturers and retailers.” He estimated that “tens of thousands of carats of blood diamonds are now in dealers’ inventories and jewelers’ showcases — and are being actively sold to consumers.” [Read more about Rapaport's criticisms.]
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Tags: CSR, Diamonds, Editorial, Ethical Jewelry, Ethics, Fair Trade, Fair Trade Jewelry, Rad Transparency, Rapaport, Responsible Mining, Spin, Transparency, Trends by Jesse Finfrock
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Martin Rapaport, is arguably the most important figure in the diamond sector, and a central figures in the fair trade jewelry movement and one of the key figures in the initiation of the Kimberley Certification Process (KP). Last week, Rapaport resigned from the World Diamond Council , and gave the KP its most high profile vilification from an insider, calling it a “sham.”

(Martin Rapaport, center)
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Tags: Announcements, CSR, Diamonds, Ethics, Fair Trade, Green Wash, Mining, Rad Transparency, Rapaport, Responsible Mining, Spin, Transparency, Trends by Marc Choyt
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To many First Nations people in the North West Territories, Canadian diamonds are full of conflict. Despite the promise of jobs and the Impact Benefit Agreements which gave money to communities, there were some who opposed the mines, anticipating the ecological havoc on their ancestral lands.

As this article in Canadian Mining Watch details, the environmental cost of Canadian diamonds has been significant. In any honest assessment, no diamond that comes from Canada can legitimately be called “conflict free” unless you discount the conflict mining has caused to the environment and the Native communities which live with it.
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Tags: Announcements, CSR, Diamonds, Editorial, Environment, Ethics, Green Issues, Mining, Rad Transparency, Responsible Mining, Spin, Transparency, Trends by Marc Choyt
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Introduction:

Alex Twersky is President of Finesse Diamond Company, a DTC DeBeers Sightholder, has been in the forefront of ethically sourced diamonds with their Namibian Kalahari Diamond sourcing. Ninety percent of Finesse’s diamonds are cut in Namibia—including rough from other parts of the world which they export to Namibia.

(Alex Twersky)

Finesse’s visionary operations represent a real skill transfer program. They pay living wages in an African country where good jobs are hard to find. Yet in context to the global diamond business, which is cut throat competitive, Namibian beneficiation was risky and very expensive—even more so in today’s economy which is more price driven than ever.
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Tags: Best Practices, CSR, Diamonds, Ethical Jewelry, Fair Trade, Fair Trade Gems, Interviews, Mining, Rad Transparency, Responsible Mining, Transparency by Marc Choyt
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~ Editorial comment by Marc Choyt

In my previous post, I discussed how nearly every civil society would consider Zimbabwe diamonds as conflict diamonds, given the widespread documentation of atrocities that have taken place there. Yet these diamonds from Zimbabwe, are already being openly sold to diamentiers in India at 25% under market outside of the Kimberley Process. This is the first case that I know of in which “conflict diamonds” are openly being purchased and sold.

Now, news from the WDC, the propaganda arm of the diamond sector, tells us such diamonds are “not strictly conflict” in Money Biz. This new “not strictly conflict” classification on behalf of the WDC attempts to justify morally reprehensible trade. It undermines the credibility of that organization and the jewelry sector as a whole.
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Tags: Diamonds, Editorial, Environment, Ethical Jewelry, Ethics, Fair Trade Gems, Mining, Rad Transparency, Responsible Mining, Spin, Transparency, Trends by Marc Choyt
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~ By Marc Choyt, Publisher

Sometimes reading all the criticism about Kimberley Certification Process (KPC) feels like flogging a dead horse.

KPC is the regulatory body that assures only “conflict free” diamonds enter the supply chain. Zimbabwe has been the hot topic for several months now and the critical debate recently has been whether or not to suspend that country.
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Tags: , Diamonds, Editorial, Ethical Jewelry, Ethics, Green Wash, Rad Transparency, Spin, Transparency, Trends by Marc Choyt
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Press release from the Rapaport Group

The Rapaport Group will be sponsoring a special session at our annual conference:

The discussions will be lively and all our Madison Dialogue friends are invited to attend.

The conference fees will be waived for NGO’s (non-profits), Government, and Press as long as seats are available. And yes, you can attend the entire conference.

The special session is scheduled for 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm and may continue after 5:00 pm.

Those that want to get together for dinner should please email us.

Online registration www.diamonds.net/idc
email idc@diamonds.net; or phone +1-702-893-9400

Tags: Announcements, Diamonds, Rad Transparency, Rapaport, Responsible Mining, Transparency, Trends by admin
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By Greg Valerio, Staff Writer, fairjewelry.org

“I sit on a mans back, choking him and making him carry me and I assure myself and others that I am very sorry for him and wish to ease his suffering by all means, except by getting off his back”.
~ Leo Tolstoy

Ian Smillie’s resignation from the Kimberley Process (KP) at the end of May 2009 came as a shock to me as it did to most people on the outside of the process. I have met Ian on a number of occasions and had been impressed by his commitment to the jewellery industry, as well as his passion for reform.

His involvement in Partnership Africa Canada and the Kimberley Process has helped to revolutionize the jewellery industry as well as the political and corporate culture that surrounds our work.

Ian started as a teacher in Sierra Leone in the sixties and demonstrated concern for the plight of the people throughout his career, including the environmental and labour conditions of the small miners.
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Tags: Best Practices, CSR, Diamonds, Editorial, Environment, Ethical Jewelry, Ethics, Fair Trade, Fair Trade Jewelry, Gold, Green Issues, Greenland Rubies, Manufacturing, Mining, Rad Transparency, Responsible Mining, Rubies, Social Initiatives, Spin, Transparency, Trends by Greg Valerio
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The pioneering UK fair trade jewellery company has launched an exciting new venture called CRED Sources (www.credsources.com). This new business represents a significant breakthrough in the transparency and traceability of the gold supply chain.

Working with the international fair trade movement, CRED Sources will provide fine gold grain, 18ct yellow and white gold in sheet and wire format to the jewellery trade.

Christian Cheesman, CRED’s Business Director says, “We are very excited about this development and the opportunities it presents to the trade and the consumer. We really want the small jewellers, goldsmiths and designer makers to have access to the remarkable developments taking place through the fair trade movement and the social, environmental and transparency revolution that is taking place within our industry”.
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Tags: Announcements, Best Practices, CSR, Diamonds, Environment, Ethical Jewelry, Ethics, Fair Trade Jewelry, Gold, Green Issues, Manufacturing, Mining, Platinum, Rad Transparency, Responsible Mining, Transparency, Trends by Greg Valerio
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Introduction:

What is an ethically sourced gemstone and who supplies them? While Columbia Gemhouse is widely known, other suppliers are coming on line as well, including the “Open Source” Platform developed by Mike Angenent.

(This is the second of two articles that explore new ethical sources for colored gemstones that are coming into the market.)

~ Marc Choyt, Publisher, Fairjewelry.org.
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Tags: Announcements, Diamonds, Ethical Jewelry, Ethics, Fair Trade, Fair Trade Gems, Fair Trade Jewelry, Green Issues, Interviews, Rad Transparency, Responsible Mining, Transparency, Trends by Marc Choyt
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