Fair Trade Jewelry

In a land where the winter sun will only rise for an hour a day, the ruby, to the Inuit, holds “the divine flame that never goes out.”

Niels Madsen knew where the fiery crystal sparkled out of the earth like red stars in the dark arctic night. This particular place, a peninsula of land between two deep artic blue lakes, called to him. He is a native Greenlander who walks in two worlds, with an Inuit mother and a Danish father. Except for time spent in Denmark where he went to learn the printing trade, he has lived in Greenland almost all his life.

For centuries, Inuits had scooped up rubies while they hunted or gathered berries—a right protected by Greenlandic law. Madsen knew, even though no company had a legally recognized ruby claim, this right would soon be tested.

Niels Madsen, Inuit

He was not after the typical Greenlandic rubies that had been on the market for several years — the low grade material carved into cultural mementos which were sold to tourists.

The rubies he sought were of the finest gem quality—perhaps worth more than diamonds.

Just by putting a shovel into the earth where these rubies were plentiful would be like standing on the top of a mountain and moving a pebble that would change the course of a mighty river.

It would begin a process that would expose for the world what he witnessed; the connection between a large scale mining company and the Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum, (BMP), which sought to cut Greenlanders out of true economic benefit while maintaining an anachronistic colonial framework.

To Madsen, the ruby “samples” that a foreign mining interest removed from the land, was done so under an emerging system, designed to keep Greenlanders out.

Madsen called such gems, “apartheid rubies.”

The Call Of The Divine Flame

On August 14th, 2007, Madsen and four others, including his sister, left the village of Qeqertarsuatsiaat. They got on a friend’s fishing boat and made the journey along the Greenland coast, trolling through the cold waters.

He knew exactly what he was looking for and where to find them. Madsen been taught to see the commercial value of new ruby deposits by gemologists hired by True North Gems, Inc., (TNG) the Canadian mining company that was now his nemesis.

TNG had had been operating on only an exploratory license, gathering up and removing ruby rough for years.

http://www.truenorthgems.com/newreleases/nr2008_Jan16.html

Earlier that summer, Madsen had met with Greg Davison, a new TNG manager from Canada. Madsen had previously worked for True North Gems. Davison wanted to rehire Madsen for the project, but Madsen was not interested.

“I told him I might come down and collect rocks on my own and he agreed because I had worked with TNG in 2005. But he wanted to make a gentleman’s agreement—that Greenlanders stayed away from the one place that had gem quality ruby—the best place,” said Madsen.

Davison gave two reasons for wanting him away.

First: Davison was obligated to document everything that was removed from that area. This was only partially accurate—it applied to True North, but not Madsen who had his rights to hand mine.

Second, Davison told him that the rough held no value.

This lie made Madsen angry. He had held a ruby in his hand that was worth a half million dollars. He knew that many people had in their own possession rubies of that same quality.

“I wanted him to continue to think I was stupid,” said Madsen, who did not immediately respond to Davidson. “But I immediately started planning to go where he did not want me to go. I would bring a Greenland flag because the rocks are not True North’s—they are still owned by Greenland.”

(I tried to interview Davidson for this article to get his version of events, but I was referred directly to Andrew Lee Smith, CEO of True North. His interview is published here.)

Yet Madsen was not someone who sought to draw attention to himself. He simply wanted to dig a few rubies, cut them and sell them for a fair price to a few jewelers interested in Greenland rubies. He had a wife and a family to feed.

(To native Greenlander’s, the mineral wealth of their lands is a sacred trust, not one to be stripped away.)

From his view, the slight benefit the locals could look forward to from TNG’s presence was temporary part-time employment and the local tax that additional labor generated.

“I compare it to a cruise ship with tourists coming into a Greenlander’s home, taking the TV, stereo and a nice table, and I get paid for carrying these out to the ship,” said Madsen. “We would not get the value of the merchandise, but would only be paid for the grunt work.”

It was clear to him why his efforts to generate real economic benefit through the ruby had been thwarted. An official from the BMP had told Madsen, “It is not the intention that the wealth go to the likes of you. It belongs to the state of Denmark.”

Yet the rubies were, as the Inuit stories told, a school of salmon that swam into the land. They were part of the abundance and beauty of the earth that in his view, was not a commodity, but a gift for all. If he gained ruby wealth, he would share it. He would empower the Inuit, and they would spread out on the land like caribou.

The Gemologist Teacher

The events that August could be traced back to 2004, when True North hired an economic geologist and graduate gemologist, William Rohtert.

Rohtert had previously been employed by the Rio Tinto in the 1980’s and 1990’s, where he was involved with the challenges of exploring and developing deposits of diamonds and colored gemstones. He had decades of field and marketing experience in the gem trade.

Initially, Rohtert was shocked at the environmental transformation in Greenland due to global warming. “Temperatures reaching up to eighty degrees in summer, and every summer, the sea ice retreats farther north. Even the Northwest passage was coming open,” he remarked.

With the receding of the snows, gold, platinum, diamond, sapphires and gem quality ruby had been discovered.

He viewed his work in Greenland as a perfect situation that would create tremendous benefit for both the local people and the shareholders of True North Gems.

(William Rohtert - Hamming it up)

“He often said to me with a big smile, everybody wins!” said Madsen. “There will be many deposits left after TNG has made their claims. We were all happy in those years and it seemed as if nothing was too good for Greenlanders.”

Rohtert and his crew spent much time in the field, searching for high quality deposits. As a specialist in the grading of rough gems, he saw in the veins of ruby some stones that rivaled the Burmese Hmong Hsu ruby deposit, the most prolific and valuable ruby deposit in the world.

“In Burma where rubies have been mined for millennia,” Rohtert said, “you have half a million people looking for rubies, many working in deplorable conditions. In Greenland, modern exploration was insignificant before True North.”

Rohtert saw a tremendous opportunity for positive impact in the world market. He convinced True North that, done right, Greenland could be a win-win situation for the company and the nation.

In the jewelry sector, particularly over the past few years, a new trend has emerged: beneficiation, which is an attempt to maximize economic benefit by adding additional manufacturing processes in the mine to market supply chain.

Greenland ruby seemed like an ideal product. With money provided by True North Gems, he purchased faceting machines and brought in teachers to teach gemstone cutting and jewelry design.

To Rohtert’s astonishment, Madsen and others in the village quickly became highly skilled in the polishing of ruby gemstones. He was impressed with the natural jewelry making talents of both the men and the women in the village.

Local enthusiasm for the gemstone business was strong. “In the modern world,” he explained, “companies often spend millions of dollars to create a market image for their product. Here you have this beautiful ruby product made by beautiful people in a beautiful land.”

“Their culture in the purist sense is communal, living or starving together is the survival mechanism. Now they feel they have brought in a whale called ‘rubies’, so it is alien to the people for a single company to go in there and take what belongs to them all.”

Rohtert left TNG in February 2007. He expressed a desire to help solve the current dilemma. “I wish the company well,” he said.

The Most Valuable Rubies

The boat ride to the ruby site took nearly six hours. From the landing, the trip up to the lakes was not far. Madsen and his four companions traveled light, walking half the day inland with just a simple shovel, tents and their food. They planned to stay a few days to hunt, fish, and gather ruby the way the Inuit always had.

Cupped into the mountains above the sea were two glacial lakes, deep green and blue, sparkling in the sun. The rubies were located on a peninsula, like a figure eight, that cut between the waters.

It was approximately 11AM when Madsen arrived, and he could see that the Canadians, who had already arrived by helicopter, were drilling and chain sawing for rubies.

All Madsen wanted to do was shovel in loose dirt and gather a few rocks that he could take home.

Soon a TNG official approached and told Madsen that he was not allowed to be there while they while they were mining.

(This ruby, valued at half a million dollars, could have brought badly needed prosperity. Instead, it was confiscated from its Inuit owner.)

“Are you mining?” Madsen asked. “You are not allowed to mine—just explore.”

She corrected herself and according to Madsen, replied that she was just exploring

“Have you read the law?” Madsen asked.

She had not.

“I have read the law,” he said, “And I am allowed to be here. If you want to complain, you will have to have the court decide.” (See the accompanying post on Greenlandic law.)

They began the simple act of digging. Yet the act was symbolic, for Madsen and for his friends — akin to Mahatma Gandhi’s march to the ocean where he and his friends and their handful of salt would take down the British Empire.

They were making history. This was the first time an Inuit had openly defied the BMP and a major multinational mining company.

According to Madsen, True North’s employee left the site to contact the BMP. This indicated that they had no plans for blasting because a satellite phone was not on the premise. His group continued to dig, surrounded by mountains, snow and the beautiful lake, hearing only the sound of their breathing and the shovel against the earth.

True North’s people returned later that day, photographing their activity.

On the third day, Madsen and his group heard the percussive thump of chopper blades bouncing off the stark mountains.

The helicopter landed close in and BMP officials jumped out with three armed police officers who encircled their group. Madsen described them as aggressive and intimidating in their tone.

In the ensuing discussions, Madsen was told by an official from the BMP, in front of the police, that his network for exportation was too good, because of his connection with Rohtert.

Now, Madsen turned to a policeman and asked if he understood what had been said. The officer told him he could not possibly remember what he had just heard.

Madsen and his group observed the police scurrying about the ruby fields, collecting the red crystals and stuffing them into their own pockets.

The group was presented with a remarkable letter from the official with the BMP addressed to Madsen: he was not allowed to prospect or sell any mineral collected on Greenland.

This letter was the first of its kind in the history of the nation.

Later that morning, Madsen met Davidson. “He was standing with two True North Gem guys and the helicopter pilot working for Air Greenland,” said Madsen. “I asked Davidson if he was coming to my country with his lies and stealing and making war on us for the ruby.”

According to Madsen, Davidson said loudly and emphatically, “This is war!”

In an interview later about the incident published in the local press, Davidson stated that the site was being prepared for blasting. He defended the rights of Inuit to collect rubies, though stated that it seemed “unreasonable” to have prospectors come to their “main discovery site” where they had heavily invested.

He also told Nuuk TV that because they were five people with shovels, instead of two, their activities “were intending commercial effort” rather than “personal use”.

However, no where under Article 32, the code governing the mining of gemstones for Greenland, is there any restriction of of group size, tools used, or quantity taken.

A few months after these events, Madsen met a gemologist hired by the BMP who looked at the rough he had gathered and told him that he was already a millionaire.

From the group of five, Madsen formed the August 16th Union, whose objective was to secure the rights of all Greenlanders to artisanally mine and sell rubies.

Gathering Allies

In a recent public town meetings, Madsen had asked BMP authorities, with True North officials present, “If I find a ruby and facet it, and it‘s worth a million,” Madsen asked, “Can I export it under article 32?”

Now, the answer is, no.

Until 2006, all Greenlanders had clear rights to mine and sell rubies. All that they needed was an export license which up until that time was easily available.

Permits for export had been granted to the Greenland Stone Club, which the BMP sponsored. They were allowed to export for the Tucson International Gem and Mineral Show, as well as at the Munich Mineral Show, on four occasions between 2001 and 2005.

Madsen also stated that the BMP has stopped all mineral export licenses for other Greenland citizens as well, except for “semi-precious” gems.

This specious distinction between precious and semiprecious is not recognized by the international gem trade, not mentioned under Article 32.

“They don’t know how to handle the case,” explained Madsen. “They promised me an export license but they won’t give one to me.” The rocks collected before August 16th are now, what Madsen calls, ‘outlaw rocks.’

BMP is asking that small scale miners pay the same exploitation fees, 100,000 DKK (about $19,600), as the large scale mining companies.

(Click on this image for detailed map of Greenland’s Mineral Resources)

Soon after the union formed, a United Kingdom jeweler, Greg Valerio, founder of Cred Jewellery, got involved. He had heard about the rubies and visited the country to purchase some. (See accompanying post)

Valerio had pioneered the fair trade mine-to-market concept in the emerging ethical jewelry space. He was a co-founder of the Association of Responsible Mining (ARM), which has developed fair trade gold standards for small scale artisanal mining in South America.

With experience in dealing with governments, corporations and NGOs around the issue of artisan small scale mining, he has thrown himself into the legislative process in support of the 16 August Union.

“What TNG and the BMP are trying to do is so duplicitous,” he explained. “They are trying to appear as a friend of small scale mining, but want them to fulfill a Native stereo type, selling carved low grade ruby trinkets to a nearly non-existent tourist trade and not engage in real economic activity.”

Valerio has teamed up with Madsen. He also has a commercial interest, as the founder of Cred Jewellery, which is establishing a resource based platform for ethical jewelry which can supply the entire sector with precious metal and gems of the highest fair trade standard.

The CEO of True North Gems, Andrew Lee Smith stated that he fully supports the lawful small scale mining and selling of rubies by Greenlanders. “The Union’s issue is with the Greenland government, less so than True North,” he said.

Smith views the accusations of collusion between TNG and BMP against the Inuit’s rights to small scale mining and selling of rubies as absolutely false, and considers the August 16th Union, a radical faction engaging in illegal activities with little support from Greenlanders.

Valerio is not opposed to True North Gem’s mining interests, as long as the Inuit are also able to get a fair share of what is a rightfully theirs. He has been in contact with Greg Davison.

“True North Gems is on the fence,” he said, “claiming that they support indigenous mining issues, but also claiming that they must obey the law. Obeying a bad law is bad business.”

Most Recent Developments

The BMP continues to stonewall Madsen’s export license.

Permits to the Greenland Stone club have also been denied, prompting several of those members to join the August 16th Union, which now numbers forty members.

(What will this little girl’s future be like? Will she benefit from the wealth of her ancestral lands?)

At a meeting on September 18, 2008, between the BMP and the 16 August Union, Madsen was told that he was could not travel within 300 meters of a worksite. He can only take “lesser value” opaque corundum and is absolutely forbidden to ever go to the site between the two lakes again.

Greenlanders are now allowed only to sell semiprecious gems, not precious gems, a specious distinction that is not recognized in the international gem trade.

Beyond Greenland, new sources of high grade rubies remain difficult to locate. Burma has historically provided as much as ninety percent of the world’s rubies, but the US and EU passed laws which make their possession illegal. The jewelry sector is hungry for a new source of for high quality rubies, which can be more valuable than diamonds.

Madsen has hired a lawyer to help him, though he is quickly running out of money. He has circulated a petition on behalf of the August 16th Union, demanding the rights to have small scale mining and selling of rubies as guaranteed under Article 32.

He has proven that his Union is not a radical fringe movement by gathering 2600 signatures on a petition for small scale mining rights in just three weeks. This number represents four and a half percent of the entire nation of 57,000. The petition has drawn another 750 signatures from international supporters who have signed up online.

If Madsen and his 16 August Union, succeed in their goal, it will set precedent in Greenland. The indigenous people will gain the right to have small scale mining on their ancestral homelands.

A Great Sea

The great sea
Has sent me adrift,
It moves me as the week in a great river
Earth and the great weather move me,
Have carried me away
And move my inward parts with joy.

Inuit woman shaman
quoted by Rammussen

Tags: CSR, Fair Trade, Fair Trade Gems, Greenland Rubies, Mining, Rubies, Spin, Transparency by Marc Choyt
1 Comment »

Introduction:

Andrew Lee Smith, Founder and CEO of True North Gems(TNG), described his companies’ fine track record of beneficiation both in Greenland and in other First Nation Communities. He states that the accusations of collusion between TNG and BMP against the Inuit’s rights to small scale mining and selling of rubies are absolutely false.

In sum, his position has been entirely consistent: to work lawfully in Greenland, to provide benefit to local community and also, to provide a new source of highly ethical gemstones to the jewelry sector.

“The Union’s issue is with the Greenland government, less so than True North,” he said. “The days of colonialist approach to mining are an anachronism in today’s industry. Not only is an exploitative approach to rights of local peoples an abdication of a moral obligation, it is fundamentally good business to make sure you have the support of local people… we want to bring benefit with whatever we do.”

Twice in the interview, Mr. Smith reiterated his complete support of small scale mining and selling of rubies by Native Greenlanders, so long as it is lawful.

I am most grateful for Mr. Smith taking a considerable amount of time to answer to have this discussion. This interview was conducted by phone. The transcript was then then emailed to Mr. Smith for his final approval.

Below is our conversation with limited editing. ~ Marc Choyt, Publisher

Marc Choyt: First, what is your background, and how did you come to be CEO of True North Gems?

Andrew Lee Smith: I founded true north gems in 2000. I am a geologist by training and have been in the minerals and exploration business for twenty-five years.

Working on this story about the relationship between the Inuit and True North was in many ways very discouraging. What have you learned from what has taken place?

Who are your sources?

Marc Choyt: Among several people, I have been writing about Niels Madsen.

Andrew Lee Smith: I encourage you to check your sources. It is my understanding that Neils and his group refer to themselves as Greenlandic, but I may be may be mistaken.

We have been operating for 8 years in 3 major aboriginal communities including Greenland and our track record with working with Native people is very good. In particular, our dealings with the Kaska First Nation in Canada’s Yukon Territory has demonstrated the company’s approach to dealing with the rights of First Nations. True North Gems was the first Canadian company to sign a landmark agreement with a local First Nation that recognized their rights to their traditional territory. An act of which the company and I personally are very proud.

The MOU with the Ross River Band and the Kaska First Nation was the first of its kind and has since been used as a precedent for other agreements between individual companies and local first nations. It was based on the Babine Protocol which I helped to negotiate with a group of First Nations leaders and a group of resource industry representatives convened by the Premier of British Columbia in 1998. The Babine Protocol was never ratified.

Marc Choyt: What about the claims of the August 16 Union?

Andrew Lee Smith: I am not aware of the specific claims of the August 16th Union so it is hard for me to comment. My understanding is that the incident of August 16 is somehow being portrayed as an attempt by True North and the Greenland government violate the rights of indigenous people. This is a misrepresentation and I am of the opinion that there is a lot of disinformation being generated about the incident. We work closely with the local people of Fiskenaesset and our relationship with this local community has been mutually respectful. Niels is not part of the local community of Fiskenaesset.

Our relationship with the local government, the Kommun of Fiskenaesset, is excellent. I really believe that the perspectives of the people of Fiskenaesset, the BMP and local law enforcement officials need to be included if a true evaluation of the events of August the 16th is to be understood. We continue to develop programs to work with the local community, skill training, generation of jobs, are all part of True North’s intention to have a positive impact on local and regional economies with anything that we do.

We are firm supporters of the concept of ethical sourcing, certification and order to move our business plan forward. Working with local communities is key.

I encourage you to speak to the people we are working with instead of only radical groups engaged in illegal activities.

Marc Choyt: What happened at the site on August 16th?

Andrew Lee Smith: I was not a witness so I cannot provide any personal observations, but, as I understand it, the police were summoned by government because of illegal activities.

Marc Choyt: It was not your company that made the call? Who told them?

Andrew Lee Smith: No, it was the Greenland authorities as far as I know. Once the Greenlandic authorities became aware of what is going on the police were summoned to deal with an illegal act. True North’s participation in the incident was a result of our concern for the safety of our personnel in a confrontational situation and the fact that the incident was occurring on a property that we had the legal rights to explore.

Marc Choyt: Do you favor Inuit mining rights under Article 32 or Article 7?

Andrew Lee Smith: As I understand the spirit of Article 32, it is not designed to allow large groups of people to use mechanized equipment to extract gemstones. Its intent is to preserve the rights of local people to collect and use material that they find. I believe the Article allows for the extraction of to semiprecious gemstones by groups of no more than two.

Marc Choyt: But the notion of semi-precious gemstones has no credibility in the trade.

Andrew Lee Smith: It is my understanding that the Greenland government based the intervention on their interpretation of 32 which identified the activities of the August 16th Union as illegal. Again, I would urge you to speak with those involved if you intend to provide a true assessment of the events of August 16.

Marc Choyt: Right now, you feel you have a solid relationship with the Greenlanders?

Andrew Lee Smith: Yes, except for a vocal minority, that is portraying True North in a negative light. Our plans are to move forward cooperatively with local people and see them benefit along with our shareholders.

If you speak with a broader base of sources, you will find that there is not only support among key areas for what True North is attempting to do, but, you will find people who have serious issues with what the Union, engaging in illegal activity.

If you look at our company’s record in the Yukon and Baffin Island, you will see we are innovative in our relationships with local communities and local economies.

True North’s management and staff have become frustrated with being confronted by the one sided version of the “facts” as presented by the union and its representatives.

Marc Choyt: That’s why I wanted to hear from you.

Andrew Lee Smith: The Union is doing everything they can to cast in us in a negative way. I believe their issue is not with us, but with the laws of Greenland.

I would urge you to speak with representatives from BMP and police officials, in respect to what is taking place in respect to the ruby project in Greenland.

If you have not included the opinions of law enforcement, the local community and BMP you will be getting a biased version of the facts. We are quite happy to have you investigate.

The laws of Greenland are in the interest of Greenlanders and the context in which reasonable people operate and the context in which we operate. If the Union can be successful in having the laws changed, we will respect the laws.

At this point, there was some discussion between us about what constituted “facts.” Mr. Smith suggested that in order to get the full story, I need to hear the government. I also needed to diversify my sources. I explained that I was a part time blogger and the president of a jewelry manufacturing company, not a full time journalist. I was interested in hearing True North’s perspective. From my view, since True North was working within the laws over the government, it would be reasonable to expect that the officials would support Mr. Smith’s view. I had come to him so he could state TNG’s position clearly and for the record.

Then we continued our conversation.

Andrew Lee Smith: The support of the Aug 16th in Greenland is a small minority. More importantly, they do not have support at the local level in the community that we are dealing with.

Marc Choyt: Do you know about the petition that is circulating, asking for the rights to have small scale mine and selling of rubies?

Andrew Lee Smith: No.

Marc Choyt: In two weeks, I believe they already have 2000 signatures.

Andrew Lee Smith: We have no problem with Greenlanders mining and selling their rubies under article 32, under the interpretation of Greenlandic law.

The interpretation is not something that True North has something to do. We want to conduct ourselves within the laws of Greenland and exercise our rights.

Marc Choyt: I have heard that one of your plant managers quit—because of hostilities from your local community.

Andrew Lee Smith: My understanding is that his reasons had to do with a change in jobs. But I have not had a chance to speak to anyone. There is nothing specific there. It is just rumor and gossip.

In my opinion, the Union has an agenda that has more to do with the self interest of a few and less with the collective interests of the people of Greenland. Their communication, ideas and description of events is not necessarily an accurate portrayal of the facts.

The broader context here is that there is tremendous opportunity that could have benefits to a great number of people. True North is excited and happy about participating in that.

I take offense to any implication that there is a conspiracy to align our self interest against the Greenland people. If you have a look at the Company’s track record, we are held in high regard amongst First Nation communities in Canada.

Marc Choyt: What specific beneficiation programs have you implemented?

Andrew Lee Smith: Our efforts to date have been focused around the small gem polishing facility in Fiskensesset. Over the past three years we have purchased equipment, supplied rough stones and provided two sessions of professional instruction on polishing and jewelry design free of charge to local artisans. We have also helicoptered two large boulders of ruby ore to the village and placed them near a playground where children have access. These are two modest ways that we are attempting to connect with the local community and foster the development of a local gemstone artisans. If we are successful in developing a mining operation at Fiskensesset, we have a broader and more comprehensive plan to impact the local and regional communities in this regard. These plans will be detailed as part of a feasibility study.

Marc Choyt: Would you support the rights of the Greenlanders to the small scale mining and selling of rubies?

Andrew Lee Smith: We are not opposed to that small scale mining if it is lawful. However, rights that we have established to explore and potentially mine rubies in compliance with the laws of Greenland, must also be respected.

The issues they have are with the Greenlandic government. The Union goes out of their way to make this an issue for True North and I think that this is mis-directed.

Marc Choyt: Why is it misdirected?

Andrew Lee Smith: There exists in Greenland is a tremendous opportunity to develop a new source of ruby for the global trade. That is part of what True North sees as their role here. To offer alternative to the current suppliers of ruby to the global market – we see the opportunity to have a positive impact on the gemstone industry and generate tremendous benefits as well.

We are trying to develop a broader initiative —we see this as part and parcel of what we are doing.

Marc Choyt: What happens to your rough after it is mined?

Andrew Lee Smith: Transportation and auditing is done under BMP and is kept in our vaults in Vancouver. Some is sent in our manufacturing experiments, to determine the economic viability of project. It is done under strict codes of conduct, independent auditing and review by representatives from Greenland government. We are a public company and as such all our activities are highly regulated and audited, which includes the stone traffic.

Our stance is that we support the laws of the Greenland government and respect the local communities and it is the company’s obligation to conduct ourselves in a fashion that will have a positive impact on the local community. Our actions have benefits that will support local aboriginal people.

We have established a group of people around the company who have experience with issues of ethical sourcing. There is a tremendous opportunity here to develop a venture to meet market trends toward ethical sourcing and certification. In order to maintain that standard and maintain that mantle you have to practice what you preach.

We are a little defensive when we get falsely accused as stomping on people rights.

Marc Choyt: You have strict control of the material?

Andrew Lee Smith: Yes, chain of custody and assurance of source are critical to the certification process which a key aspect of True North’s business plan. A lack of stringent controls on stone traffic could allow for Greenland rubies to be diluted with ruby from other sources, such as Burmese material. A situation similar to what happened initially with Canadian diamonds.

If you are truly going to provide certification and confidence, you really have to be able to justify your operations all the way down the line.

As a public company, we are highly regulated, highly scrutinized and have a great deal of responsibility. We would never risk doing “off balance sheet transactions” or “stone diversion” as the practice is illegal for public companies and the penalties and liabilities are severe. The public domain which includes liability and full independent auditing is a much better business environment in which to advance issues of ethical sourcing in the gemstone industry.

Marc Choyt: You are not yet selling finished material?

Andrew Lee Smith: No. The rough that is currently in our possession and any material that we recover from our exploration activities is, and will be, the property of the Greenland government. We have no right to sell any of the material without the expressed consent of the Greenland government. Once we receive our mining license, we will have rights to produce and sell ruby material from a commercial operation.

If we can successfully establish a commercial ruby operation in Greenland, we see a real benefit to developing a partnership with the Greenlandic people with the Greenlandic government to move the stones out of the country as branded material.

We are also developing strategies for co-operation in the vale added component on a vertical integrated business plan.

These are all processes we are engaging with the Greenlandic government. To go into production the mine must be owned by Greenlandic company which we now have formed. If we are successful, it will be through that company that we will flow all the rough and participation in value added process. That is a requirement under Greenlanic law and it will be subject to all the auditing regulatory compliance required under the laws of Greenland.

These were follow up questions asked after the initial interview:

Marc Choyt: How long have you been collecting and exporting ruby rough from Greenland?

Andrew Lee Smith: We have been exploring for rubies in Greenland since acquiring our exploration license in 2004. Part of the exploration process requires us to extract bulk samples to establish the value of the deposit in order to determine whether a commercially viable ruby deposit exists. Under the terms of our exploration license, we have no rights to sell or, in any other way, distribute rubies, or ruby specimens recovered as part of the exploration process. Any and all material extracted is the property of the Greenland government, in our possession for the purpose of the evaluation only. The chain of custody, inventory and tracking controls for all of this material is in place and is subject to review by the BMP, and independent auditing by consulting firms representing the Greenland government.

Marc Choyt: How did you meet Eric Braunwart (of Columbia Gemhouse)? Who introduced you two initially?

Andrew Lee Smith: I have not met Eric personally, but he has been well known to True North management for the past three years. We have met with him on a few occasions to discuss the ideas of ethical sourcing, fair trade, the requirements for certification and the practices that Columbia Gem House employs in this regard. Two associates of Mr. Braunwart’s consult and advise True North Gems on these and other issues, John Emmet and Dr. David Hargreaves. Dr. Hargreaves has been named as the keynote speaker at GIA Annual Convention in San Diego next August. I understand that the thrust of his talk will be on fair trade and ethical practices

Marc Choyt: My understanding is that August 16th Union was formed to assure small scale mining and selling rights for local Greenlanders. You stated that TNG would not oppose this initiative if it were legal under Greenlandic law. Would it be correct to say that TNG does in fact support the core objective of the August 16th Union? I am not talking about their methods, which the BMP has determined are illegal—but specifically, their objective to secure mining rights.

Andrew Lee Smith: True North Gems supports the rights of indigenous people to benefit from the resources that exist within their traditional territories. These rights are currently defined by articles in the laws of Greenland and are respected by True North Gems.

We believe there are ways that current regulations could be modified to allow greater access for Greenlanders to mineral resources and we have made our opinions known to the Greenland government. True North Gems has no place in the political process of Greenland, but is committed to, and will continue to be committed to, conducting the Company’s business in a lawful and respectful manner. The Company’s expectations are that any rights that True North has established under the laws of Greenland are, and will be, recognized and respected equally.

Marc Choyt: Would TNG provide any assistance of work cooperatively with small scale mining by Inuit if it were permitted? If so, what would that look like?

Andrew Lee Smith: It is the belief of True North’s management that the rights of indigenous people make them stakeholders in any venture that takes place in territories traditionally occupied by them. Further, it is in the best interests of the company and its shareholders to see that these rights are recognized and that any benefit that stems from resource development is fully realized.

In the past, the company has supported local skills training programs through investment in equipment and education. We will continue to do so. If we are successful in establishing a commercial ruby mining operation in Greenland, it will be contingent on the Company demonstrating the benefit of the operation to the people of Greenland through socio-economic benefits studies and environmental impact assessment.

On both these fronts, the Company has engaged industry leading consultants with experience in Greenland and with the development of successful socio-economic benefit strategies implemented at the Argyle Mine in Australia and with diamond mining operations in Northern Canada. These programs are in development and will eventually be presented to the Greenland government and the local communities through report and public meetings. Should the results of our exploration conclude that a commercially viable ruby operation can be developed in Greenland.

Tags: Best Practices, CSR, Fair Trade, Fair Trade Gems, Greenland Rubies, Interviews, Mining, Rubies, Spin, Transparency by Marc Choyt
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Below, you can sign the petition written by the August 16th Union to the Premier of Greenland (Hans Enoksen), requesting the right to artisanally mine rubies and sell rubies from their ancestral land. (This is supposed to be protected under Section 32 of the Mineral Resources Act of Greenland.)

~ Marc Choyt, Publisher

Tags: Fair Trade, Fair Trade Gems, Greenland Rubies, Mining, Rubies, Transparency by Marc Choyt
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Introduction:

Greg Valerio of Cred Jewellers is one of fair trade jewelry’s most passionate activists and advocates. Here, he tells the story of how from a personal perspective of how he is working to bring social justice to the indigenous people of Greenland. Special thanks to Greg for permission to print this article, which will appear in a UK publication in a few weeks.

~ Marc Choyt, Publisher

You Dream Then!

I often ask myself the question ‘Why do I do jewellery?’ In many ways, it seems to be, the strangest of professions, especially for someone like myself whose principle motivation in life is the protection of human rights and the environment. I have always found it ironic that I should find myself in the jewellery sector that has no precedent, no history, no narrative, in a lot of ways, seemingly no intention of linking its product to the values that I stand for.

Yet on a recent trip to Greenland in July of this year, I suddenly realized the reason why I am in this space is precisely because I care so deeply and passionately about these two above issues and it affords me the opportunity to make a real difference.

At the turn of the year I was invited to go to Greenland by a gemologist from America and an Inuit small-scale miner called Niels Madsen. Niels was the unfortunate victim on the 16th of August in 2007 along with 4 other colleagues of his; this incident is one of the reasons why we as jewellers, need to be so engaged in issues of human rights, cultural rights and environmental protection. Niels is an Inuit and a small-scale ruby miner.

The Greenlandic Constitution enshrines in law as a native of Greenland; which interestingly is still owned by the Danish Crown, (People forget that there are still European Colonial powers in the world and not all of North America is free from it) the right to hunt, mine and fish in the traditional ways that his ancestors would have done throughout countless generations.

Niels embodies the spirit of his people, unassuming, shy, softly spoken and deeply patient. He loves his work, loves collecting rubies, loves his children, loves his culture, loves his history, and has a dream of the future. And it is Niels and his colleagues’ dream that was so rudely and crassly interpreted by the Bureau for Minerals and Petroleum (BMP) at the behest of a Canadian Gemstone Mining company.

They had the Greenlandic police fly in helicopters, onto the mountainside, confiscate their rubies, accuse them of ruby smuggling, remove them from the mountainside, ban them from returning, threaten them with prison and criminalize their traditional way of life. All in contravention of their own Constitution.

Niels Madsen, Inuit

As we walked through Greenland with Niels and friends, travelled by boat south to a typical fishing village (Fiskenaesset), climbed the mountains where they mined their rubies, learned how they mined their rubies, why they mined their rubies, shared their vision of what they would do with these stones like cutting and polishing, social enterprise initiatives for local communities during the winter months when it is to dark to do any work outside, feed their families with the proceeds and earn a decent living. I began to get a little taste of their dream. A dream they have dreamed then and one they still dream now.

(This ruby (pictured at right), valued at half a million dollars, has been illegally confiscated from its Inuit owner.)

I suddenly began to understand in a deeper way what my role as a social entrepreneur was and why I was working in this fantastic jewellery sector and to see the harmony of Niels’ role as the artisanal small-scale miner and how together we could bring tangible benefits to our world.

The relationship we were building was one of shared values, mutual respect and preservation of the environment, for the desire to earn a living and add to the common good. The desire not to be captured by an economic story that reduces everything and everyone to a figure on a balance sheet that only points to having exclusive corporate access to minerals of high value at any cost and at the expense of everyone else around you.

To underscore this point at the community meeting on Fair Trade Jewellery in Fiskenaesset an old lady stood up and made two simple points.

(Inuits are becoming more uncertain about their future as Global Warming expands across Greenland.)

“The Canadians have been coming here for years exploring for our rubies, when are they going to stop exploring?” and she followed this up with “The rubies belong to everyone, why will they not share them with us, after all they are our Rubies, not the Canadians!”

These two simple statements seemed to embody the core of the problem. On the one hand you have a culture that views nature and the environment as a gift for everyone, and a company whose philosophy is one of private wealth and ownership and views the environment as something to be owned and exploited. We have to choose what kind of jewellery we want to create.

The whole cycle of the relationship we shared with these people drove home to me like a silver bullet, why the jewellery trade has the potential to become a real force for social improvement as well as environmental protection. As business people, as a crafts people, as artists, as designers we are all 100% dependent on materials that are mined from the ground.

We have to employ and engender some of the finest elements of our shared humanity, to take these raw materials and create items of exquisite beauty. As for the process between the mineral from the ground and the item of beauty that will adorn someone’s body, that process must capture that spirit, the integrity, and those values from end to end. If my jewellery does not do this, then what I am selling is cheapened.

Human Rights and the Environment are signifiers to us of all that is good, decent and honest in our world. As jewellers, we cannot allow the pursuit of pure profit to continue to blindly ignore what is going on. One of my goals in the last 10 years has been to prove this point. We can bend our business to serve greater goals and a global common good and make a decent living. We are a truly global industry, from mine to retail, from the poorest and most marginalized people to the wealthiest and most powerful.

To conclude, Niels Madsen and his friends are currently fighting for the simple right to sell their rubies so they can feed their families. Also to have their confiscated collections returned to them. The authorities in Greenland that are an extension of the Danish Colonial Government have said they (Inuit) are not allowed to sell anything that is precious or expensive.

Only foreign mining companies are allowed to make money from the sale of all precious metals and gems. This kind of apartheid has no place in the 21st century, no place in North America, no place in Europe, no place in the world. Therefore I would like to ask every reader of this article to support the small-scale miners of Greenland by signing an online petition that has been set up by the 16th August Union (the new Greenland small scale miners union). This will be sent to the premier of Greenland and to the Greenlandic Home Rule Parliament.

If this sounds like a campaign, it is, and I am confident that if the UK jewellery sector supports it, we will all be able to purchase Greenland Rubies mined, cut and polished by our Inuit friends and bring real benefits to the Greenland Economy.

For more information please contact Greg Valerio at (greg.valerio1@virgin.net)

Tags: , CSR, Environment, Fair Trade, Fair Trade Gems, Fair Trade Jewelry, Greenland Rubies, Jewelry Manufacturing, Mining, Rubies, Spin, Transparency by Greg Valerio
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Historical Summary: USA - Denmark - Greenland
By the editorial staff of fairjewelry.org

The United States extended territorial claim to northern Greenland based upon the expeditions to the North Pole by American engineer, Robert Peary between 1898 and 1909. American influence in the northernmost region of Greenland began then and continues, uninterrupted to this day at the US air base in Thule, locally known as Qaanaaq, (pronounced “Kay-Nak”). In 1909, Denmark, which then controlled southern Greenland, had no plans to establish a Danish colony at the “top of the world”.

The United States relinquished its sovereign exploration claims to Greenland, originally descending from the Peary expeditions, on 25 January 1917 in conjunction with America’s purchase of the Danish West Indies, now known as the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Wilson administration was preparing to enter World War I and wanted to establish a base on the Virgin Islands to protect the Panama Canal and Caribbean shipping from U-boat attacks. The sale was a matter of heated debate in Denmark. American concessions on the Greenland issue were meant to smooth things over with opponents of the sale. Great Britain and Sweden concurred with the American decision not to oppose the extension of Danish sovereignty to the whole of Greenland but Norway was not swayed.

The most abrupt change in the history of Greenland occurred when the Germans occupied Denmark during the Second World War. Hendrik Kauffman, the Danish Minister to Washington, was called in for consultation the day following Germany’s invasion of Denmark, 10 April 1940. The Minister accepted the American assertion that Greenland was a part of the North American continent and subject to the Monroe Doctrine. President Roosevelt now had a pretext for intervening without declaring war. The President proclaimed Greenland’s freedom from German control a vital American interest. The first U.S. Consul General to Greenland, James K. Penfield, was appointed a few weeks later. The United States eventually built three major air bases on Greenland that were critical to winning the air war over Europe. During the war years, Greenland was an independent sovereign country with close ties to the United States.

German troops remained in control of Denmark until May 5, 1945. American troops remained in Greenland after the war and the United States offered Denmark US$ 100 million in gold to buy Greenland. This shocked the Danish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Gustav Rasmussen, who declared that “Greenland was not for sale!”. The Danes requested a revision to the terms of the Hull Kauffman Agreement in May 1947 by which time the Americans had fully realized Greenland’s value as a base of operations and key to its nuclear defense strategy during the Cold War. Negotiations drug on until 1951 when a new agreement governing the presence of American forces in Greenland was signed. That same year, 1951, in Operation Blue Jay the United States Air Force finished full construction and final armament at its northernmost base in Thule.

The United States promoted the dissolution of Greenland’s colonial status, and in 1948 the Danish Government established a commission to study Greenland’s future. Regarding the mixture of religious missionary zealotry and secular colonial monopoly practiced in Greenland by the Dansk for nearly three centuries, the U.S. Commander at Narsarsuaq air base in 1948 remarked of the legacy of Danish imperialism:

“They had absolute power over the local people and the culture. They had language power. They had political power. They had racial power. They had the power to send you to hell. There was nowhere for victims to turn.”

That same year, 1948, Danish Prime Minister Mr. Hans Hedtoft visited Greenland to charge local provincial councils with deciding their relationship to Denmark. The Greenland Commission’s findings resulted in a liberalization of trade and tourism regulations beginning in 1950. In 1951, the local provincial councils voted to “connect Greenland with its motherland as part of the Kingdom of Denmark”. Lobbying by the Danish Monarch swayed the tide of public opinion. Under a new Danish constitution, Greenland was made an integral part of the Kingdom, and allocated two elected representatives in the lower house of the Danish parliament, on 5 June 1953.

Greenland struggled with modernization under reinstated Danish rule. Danish newspapers frequently portrayed Greenland as a “Sodom and Gomorrah”, holding the world’s record in alcohol abuse and venereal disease, illegitimate children, murder and suicide. Racial discrimination from colonial times persisted. Danish employees in Greenland were paid more than the local citizens under the “birthplace criterion” (Native Greenlanders are paid 15% less than people from outside Greenland doing the same job). The colonizers based their livelihood on trade with the indigenous people as an underpaid workforce. Teaching and speaking the native language of the Inuit, known as Inuktitut, was forbidden. The disappointment of the native Greenlanders was intense and home-grown political parties formed as a protest to promote equal rights and independence. Greenlanders struggled at provincial council levels for two decades to achieve some measure of self determination.

Greenland was finally granted limited Home Rule in 1979 with a promise of devolution to full independence by the year 2000. Missed deadlines and postponed benchmarks delayed the arrival of nationhood. The discovery of offshore oil and gas in the Davis Strait further complicated the situation. Now the discovery on Greenland of gold, platinum, diamond and ruby clearly focuses the drive towards independence around the question of property rights to Greenland’s underground mineral wealth. In late 2007, Greenland’s Premier, Mr. Hans Enoksen, announced 21 July 2009 as Greenland Independence Day, although there is strong opposition in Copenhagen against this sentiment, rooted in the desire for control over natural resources.

America’s operation of the Thule air base was renewed and extended for another 25 years by lease agreement with the Greenland Home Rule Government as signed by Colin Powell and Josef Motzfeldt on behalf of Greenland in 2004. For Greenlanders, the door to America has now opened wide beginning in 2006 with Air Greenland’s twice-weekly scheduled summer flights between Baltimore and Kangerlussuaq. The opening of the “Door to Baltimore” coincides with growing interest by the North American public in global climate change, as well as in the social and environmental conditions of the arctic. Of particular concern to the American government and to concerned American citizens are the basic human rights of the native Greenlanders, which are ultimately tied to their quest for freedom as a separate and independent country.

Tags: , Green Issues, Mining by admin
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Introduction:

I have been doing a little research on this subject of Greenlandic law. This document helps to explain why Niels Madsen and his Union believed that he was acting within the laws of Greenland on August 16th, 2007.

DISCLAIMER: Please note that I am very new to these issues, so I do not claim to be 100% correct. But it seemed important to me that there be some information on Greenlandic law on fairjewelry.org, which is now serving as the main English based resource for these issues. ~ Marc Choyt, Publisher

Section 32 of the Mineral Resources Act of Greenland (1999), in its entirety:

Section 32

The resident population of Greenland may as hitherto collect and extract mineral resources without this requiring a license under this Act.

Subsection 2.

The right under subsection 1 (above) to collect and extract mineral resources can, however, only be exercised with respect of exclusive licenses for exploitation of mineral resources granted to others under this Act.

Subsection 3.

Within the precincts of a municipality, the local council may lay down detailed rules of the exercise of the right under subsection 1 to collect and extract mineral resources.
Please note:

A. Nowhere is there any mention of limitation based upon “precious – versus – semiprecious”.

B. Nowhere is there any restriction as to what tools can or cannot be used.

C. Nowhere is there any prohibition against economic activity.

D. The right of residents to collect is only excluded by exploitation licenses (mining), which TNG LINK does not have. TNG has an exploration license.

E. The local municipality, NOT the Bureau of Mining and Petroleum (BMP), lays down the detailed rules for the exercise of the residents right to collect.

The good people of Fiskenaesset have already “voted with their feet” for the Greenlander’s rights to collect and economically prosper when they crossed the line in the sand at a town hall meeting attended by Mr. Greg Valerio on 29 June 2008.

Please bear in mind that:

The BMP granted an export license to Mr. Thue Noahsen for 5 kilograms of ruby under Section 32 in July 2007. They arbitrarily rescinded that export license without cause or explanation when they confiscated 5 kilograms of his ruby at the Kangerlussuaq airport in August of 2007.

The BMP historically granted export licenses of over 1000 kilograms under Section 32 to (Danish) members of the Greenland Stone Club. That export included ruby. The BMP sponsored the Greenland Stone Club at the Tucson International Gem and Mineral Show, as well as at the Munich Mineral Show, on four occasions between 2001 and 2005. Madsen and friends are now members of the Greenland Stone Club. BMP has now rescinded the export permits of the Greenland Stone Club.

To add insult to injury, The BMP arbitrarily denied the application for an export license by Madsen in August and September 2007, without just cause or due process. Supposedly, Madsen’s error was to say that he intended to export to a long-standing member of the International Colored Gemstone Association (ICA) and American Gem Trade Association (AGTA).

On 28 August 2007, the Board of the ICA then filed a letter of formal protest against the BMP for their illegitimate treatment of their member in good standing, and further against the BMP for their inappropriate and unacceptable conduct towards the native artisanal gemstone miners on Greenland.

In Summary:

1.) There never was a problem with Section 32 until Madsen and friends began finding valuable ruby.

2.)BMP has reversed law and policy and tradition by now proposing to place native rights to gather minerals under Section 7 instead of Section 32.

Tags: Fair Trade Gems, Greenland Rubies, Mining, Rubies, Spin, Transparency by Marc Choyt
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Introduction:

In this press release, activist environmental NGOs line up in opposition to Wal-Marts “Love Earth” jewelry line. Note that the objection is primarily to the marketing and not the actual mine to market concept. Read the letter posted earlier, which explains in detail the objections over Wal-Mart’s sourcing.

Boulder, CO:

Environmental watchdog group Global Response announced today that it filed complaints with Consumers Union and the Federal Trade Commission, charging that Wal-Mart’s ‘green’ claims for its ‘Love, Earth’ jewelry are false.

“It is unconscionable that instead of addressing the planet’s serious environmental problems, Wal-Mart hoodwinks consumers into thinking they can ‘reduce impact on human health and the environment’ by buying gold jewelry,” says Global Response’s executive director, Paula Palmer.

The mines in Utah and Nevada and the factories in Peru and Bolivia where Wal-Mart claims its gold for ‘Love, Earth’ is “sustainably mined and manufactured”, are not monitored or certified by any credible independent agent.

“Wal-Mart has chosen to publicly endorse mining operations which have significant problems,” says Dan Randolph, executive director of the Nevada-based Great Basin Resource Watch. “These mines emit unacceptable quantities of mercury into the air, threatening the health of fetuses and young children. They deplete water quantity in an arid region, and they will go on contaminating water with toxic metals for centuries to come.”

Denver-based, Newmont Mining Company mines ‘Love, Earth’s’ gold on Western Shoshone lands without the permission of the Western Shoshone. “Wal-Mart claims its jewelry comes from ‘community friendly sources’, says Larson Bill of the Western Shoshone Defense Project. “But they’ve never talked to us, and we’re the community affected by Newmont’s mines. They should meet with us. We need an independent health study here to show how these mines are affecting our people.”

Tags: CSR, Environment, Fair Trade, Fair Trade Jewelry, Gold, Green Issues, Mining, Spin, Transparency, Wal-Mart 'Love Earth' by Marc Choyt
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Introduction:

Wal-Mart is introducing a “sustainable” jewelry product they are calling “Love Earth.” This will represent 10% of their product range.

The large scale operations are described in this letter signed by 29 environmental activists concerned about the ethical jewelry sector. The letter, dated July 29th, preceded a conference call with the main players from Wal-Mart introducing the brand. I listened to the call.

In essence, the sourcing for Wal-Mart is from massive strip mines, some of the largest in the world, located in Utah. As the letter states, one of the mines has polluted seventy square miles of an underwater aquifer. The jewelry from these mines are now being branded as “Love Earth.”

This branding is straight from George Orwell: “Earth Love” is now “Earth Death”. Their brand also undermines legitimate efforts from companies such as my own that equate ecologically responsible jewelry production with recycled materials.

Wal-Mart claims that they cannot go recycled because there isn’t enough supply available, but I suspect that the real issue is cost. Wal-Mart, with their volume, probably purchases gold from these mines at a significant discount off of the standard spot price. This is typical of the relationship large refiners have with gold mines. This discount is not as likely with recycled precious metals. About twenty percent of all jewelry is made from recycled precious metal.

In the call itself, Wal-Mart representatives claimed to want to be “part of the solution.” They are going to respond to early criticisms made during that call later this fall.

Few people beyond the mining companies, share holders and employees like the effects of these mines on the environment. Yet it must be said that mine to market sourcing represents a best practice for a player like Wal-Mart. Even with the current issues, what they are trying to do is better than purchasing their gold from unspecified sources around the world where gold is associated with child labor and even more destructive environmental practices than those in Utah. Wal-Mart could simply source from these mines as Tiffany does without calling it “Love Earth.”

I am personally holding back my full critique or support of this project for the time being. This is the first of several posts on Wal-Mart that will be on this site over the next few months. ~Marc Choyt, Publisher

See the letter as a PDf here: Letter To Wal-Mart

Tags: Best Practices, CSR, Environment, Gold, Green Issues, Mining, Spin, Transparency, Wal-Mart 'Love Earth' by Marc Choyt
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Intro: Since the first post in Spring, 2007, this blog has evolved into a focused project demanding a great deal of voluntary time and resources. I publish here a revised ‘About Us’ section which accurately reflects our current direction. ~Marc Choyt, Publisher

Just a few years ago, before the Blood Diamond film and the No Dirty Gold campaign, very few people even considered the toxic supply chain behind an average piece of jewelry. Now, the movement to have an ethical mine-to-market supply chain has become mainstream news.

This gold rush for the next big growth market in the jewelry sector is taking place behind the scenes. Think Organic Food fifteen years ago, or Fair Trade Coffee in the Seventies. Jewelry is an emotional purchase. No one wants to support tons of toxic tailings with the purchase of their wedding ring.

Over the past year particularly, the largest players in the jewelry sector have been attempting to define the ‘ethical jewelry’ space to their best advantage with as little disruption to their complex supply chain as possible. Small scale manufacturers and miners, who are more agile, yet have a small media voice, are also hoping to get some part of this potentially strong new market.

Generally speaking, except for those truly committed to transparency, which are few and far between, the public will wind up seeing only the final branded package, designed to reveal the sunny side while hiding it’s toxicity.

For example… a few current trends in process that I pose as questions; Is it right to market a diamond as conflict free if it results in massive environmental damages or human rights abuses? Do you think it is fair to brand large scale pit mining, with massive pollution to aquifers, as ’sustainable’ and ‘loving’ toward the Earth? What if fair trade labeling organizations were to put a ‘fair trade tax’ on large scale diamond operations to make buckets of money—even if those diamond dealers were complicit in the death of 3.7 million people?

For a long time, I have attempted to hold the radical center, and to some degree, this site still has this as a major purpose. I want to focus on positive developments and not make the perfect enemy of the good. However, more and more, in order to maintain my own integrity, I find the need to expose lies and distortions.

I rely on my network of insiders, and the ability to connect apparently unrelated events that can sometimes seem like reading tea leaves. The sector is so secretive that you have to know both the right people and the right questions. I consider my viewpoint to be ‘pro-jewelry sector’, because the toxic elements of the sector can make any jeweler a ridiculously easy target; It’s just a matter of time. Denial, however, is solid. Exposing it with the hope that something might change is the equivalent of trying to carve granite with a plastic spoon.

I am President of Reflective Images Inc, a designer jewelry company located in Santa Fe, NM that was established in 1995. For my company, which I co-own with my wife, I am involved in strategic planning, marketing, website development and a myriad of other duties. My wife is the Creative Director, designing for our US and international production.

We are a small company of twelve people. In September, 2008, we were able to move our entire production, international and national, to recycled precious metals—a move we have been working on for years.

We are not perfect in our sourcing, because the supply chain is not mature enough yet and we have to survive somehow as we transition to who we want to be. But we are 100% transparent, and have developed an open source transparency system for others to use as well. We publish the Ethical Jewelry Handbook, a free e-book for the trade. This fall, I will be putting together a new free e-book for the public, and a new trade version as well. I am also spearheading an effort to create international fair trade manufacturing principals and standards.

The blog, writing handbooks, and my involvement in fair trade manufacturing issues, is a second full time job. Until fairjewelry.org, I knew of no central place where someone could go and find information. I am hoping within the next year to turn this project into a nonprofit company and gather still more resources.

I do not claim to be an expert. My views are continually evolving as I understand the myriad factors, including history, influencing events in this sector.

Yet, this blog is an extension of my ‘circle-based’ approach to business. A circle based understanding of life involves acknowledging how we are interconnected and working for economic systems that enhance community and support ecology.

My company’s activism and contribution to our local community was recently recognized by the Chamber of Commerce and City of Santa Fe, New Mexico. We were honored for Excellence in Business among all companies with five to twenty employees.

Understanding how the circle applies to business is one of the tasks that was set before me by the Indigenous wisdom keepers who have mentored me for the last twenty years. The abuse and destruction of indigenous culture is an outcome of many of the most distressing elements of the jewelry sector’s supply chain. This blog advocates for indigenous justice, which at its best means supporting the responsible efforts of artisan small scale miners.

The matrix of every business, its source of wealth, comes from communities. Communities that are strong are based on circles of fair exchange, not pyramids where all the benefit goes to a select few at the top. Our ‘resource-to-trash-to-cash’ economic model must be abandoned.

Finally, without the fine people who run the day-to-day operations of Reflective Images, I would not be able to focus so much time and energy to these issues. Of all those, I would especially like to acknowledge Marek Sutherland. Apart from being the front main customer service person for our company’s e-commerce platform, he does a fine job as webmaster, administrator and editor for this site.

Marc Choyt, Publisher and lead writer for fairjewelry.org

Tags: Best Practices, CSR, Diamonds, Environment,