Fair Jewellery Action

Introduction:

A declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People was passed on September 13th, 2007. The US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand voted against the act.

This act has broad ramifications throughout the gem world. Gems are often found on indigenous lands. Commonly governments work with large scale mining to disenfranchise and destroy indigenous communities in order to gain mineral wealth. The diamond business in South Africa was predicated and then built on the destruction of indigenous cultures. [Read more →]

Tags: Fair Trade, Fair Trade Gems, Greenland Rubies, Mining, Rubies, Spin, Transparency by Marc Choyt
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~ By Marc Choyt, Publisher, fairjewelry.org

For the past two years, I have been asking people I know in the diamond trade when an African diamond directly traceable to a particular country and beneficiation programs will be available. Recently, programs have been developed in Sierra Leon, Namibia, and now we have the Botswana diamond. [Read more →]

Tags: Best Practices, CSR, Diamonds, Fair Trade, Fair Trade Gems, Mining, Spin, Transparency by Marc Choyt
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Days Jewelers, an independent chain of five stores in New Hampshire and Maine, are at the forefront of ethical practices in the jewelry sector.

Not long ago I read about Days Jewelers committment to purchasing the Botswana diamond, a new “fair trade” diamond brand. A bit of background here is in order.

The companies marketing to the “ethically concerned consumers” have been pushing Canadian diamonds primarily as the best choice for ethically mined diamonds. This marketing has been strongly criticized by those in the jewelry trade and important public figures, including Nelson Mandela, who advocate for the necessity of African diamonds. [Read more →]

Tags: Best Practices, CSR, Diamonds, Environment, Fair Trade, Fair Trade Gems, Mining, Transparency by Marc Choyt
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This article clearly illustrates the position many people in the ethical jewelry movement hold with regard to Wal-Mart’s “Earth Love” jewelry. I was interviewed by Ms. Graff and quoted twice in the article.

Though the idea of mine to market sourcing would be considered a best practice for Wal-Mart, my view is that the positive element of this initiative is undermined by their nefarious marketing. [Read more →]

Tags: Best Practices, CSR, Environment, Fair Trade Jewelry, Mining, Spin, Transparency, Wal-Mart 'Love Earth' by Marc Choyt
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media contact: Mike Angenent Open Source Minerals
mike@opensourceminerals.com

The International Jeweltree Foundation: A new dimension of transparency with a touch of humanity

Antwerp, Belgium (24 October, 2008) [Read more →]

Tags: CSR, Diamonds, Environment, Fair Trade, Fair Trade Gems, Fair Trade Jewelry, Green Issues, Manufacturing, Mining, Spin, Transparency by admin
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Introduction:

Few people when considering diamond mining think about Latin America. In fact, diamond deposits exist in several Latin American countries.

Recently, Venezuela has been in the news because they are exporting diamonds, yet they are not working within the Kimberly Certification Process. [Read more →]

Tags: Diamonds, Environment, Fair Trade, Fair Trade Gems, Mining, Spin, Transparency by Marc Choyt
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Introduction:

Recently, Steve left his position at Earthworks, which he founded, to become president of the nonprofit, Resolve. (See our recent post at: http://www.fairjewelry.org/archives/509)

(Steve D’Esposito, President of Resolve)

When I look at the last five years, I see that much of the momentum toward ethical sourcing in the jewelry sector can be traced back to Steve’s work and vision. He was instrumental designing the “No Dirty Gold” campaign, in creating the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance, in building relationships across sectors, and in creating the Madison Dialogue meeting which brought people from the sector together for the first time.

This is the second time that Steve has been interviewed on this blog. This time, I caught up with him before the official announcement and talked about the move.
~Marc Choyt, Publisher [Read more →]

Tags: Best Practices, CSR, Environment, Fair Trade, Green Issues, Interviews, M. D. Manufacturing, Madison Dialogue, Manufacturing, Mining, Spin, Transparency by Marc Choyt
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