Fair Trade And Ethically Sourced 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.”

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Tags: CSR, Fair Trade, Fair Trade Gems, Greenland Rubies, Mining, Rubies, Spin, Transparency by Marc Choyt
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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. [Read more →]

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 [Read more →]

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

Tags: , CSR, Environment, Fair Trade, Fair Trade Gems, Fair Trade Jewelry, Greenland Rubies, 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”). [Read more →]

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 [Read more →]

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. [Read more →]

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. [Read more →]

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 [Read more →]

Tags: Best Practices, CSR, Diamonds, Environment, Fair Trade, Fair Trade Gems, Fair Trade Jewelry, Gold, Green Issues, Interviews, M. D. Manufacturing, Madison Dialogue, Manufacturing, Mining, Platinum, Rubies, Spin, Transparency by Marc Choyt
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Introduction:

In this press release, dated September 1, 2008, Fabergé reveals that they are now going to be able to trace their gemstones directly to their sources. This controlled mine to market custody represents a “best practice” for large and small scale companies in the jewelry sector.

We learn that Fabergé is going to use “ethically produced” gemstones, but they do not reveal what that might mean. This type of press release is as interesting for what it reveals as much as what it hides. [Read more →]

Tags: Best Practices, Fair Trade, Fair Trade Gems, Fair Trade Jewelry, Green Issues, Mining, Spin, Transparency by Marc Choyt
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