Fair Jewellery Action

“The truth slips out” - I.F. Stone

Introduction:

As Blood Diamonds and Dirty Gold were hitting the mainstream press, The Responsible Jewellery Council (formerly the The Council for Responsible Jewellery Practices) was founded in 2005 by a group of fourteen large companies and trade groups in the jewellery sector, including: Jewellers of America (USA), Tiffany, Zales, National Association of Goldsmiths (UK), Newmont, Cartier, Rosie Blue, De Beers, BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto.

The top bar of their website currently reads: “Reinforcing confidence in the diamond and gold supply chain.” The members in group adhere to: “responsible ethical, human rights, social and environmental practices in a transparent and accountable manner…”

Greg Valerio(GV) interviewed Michael Ray(MR), the CEO of RJC, earlier this year. Valerio is one of the founding board members of the Alliance of Responsible Mining (ARM) and the director Cred Jewellery, UK. He is widely regarded as an activist and expert in international fair trade jewellery issues.
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Tags: CSR, Editorial, Ethical Jewelry, Ethics, Interviews, Transparency, Trends by Marc Choyt
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Introduction:

Stephen Fortner is a goldsmith and manufacturer, based in Victoria, BC, Canada. He also works as a consultant for manufacturing in Thailand.

Rhodium plating is yet another jewelry manufacturing process that is incredibly toxic, and yet the public does not know. Stephen Fortner contacted me about this. He is on a campaign to educate the trade and public about the damaging elements of rhodium plating. I have published, with his permission, a short excerpt from an email he sent me which outlines the issue.

~ Marc Choyt, Publisher, fairjewelry.org.

At one time the color of white gold was not very good. It had a nickel content of around 10%. So…..along came Rhodium plating. 
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Tags: Best Practices, Editorial, Ethical Jewelry, Manufacturing, Rad Transparency, Transparency by Marc Choyt
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Introduction:
(Warning: The images of the brutality and atrocities committed by the security forces of the British company, Monterrico Metals as linked to herein, may be shocking to some readers.)

A Press release from CAFOD, the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development, working with communities in over 50 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, supporting people to find their own solutions to poverty.
~ Marc Choyt, Publisher

As alleged victims of torture in Peru bring an injunction against British mining company Monterrico Metals, NGOs are calling for foreign victims of UK corporate abuses to have better access to justice in English Courts.
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Tags: CSR, Ethics, Mining, Rad Transparency, Responsible Mining, Spin, Transparency, Trends by admin
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In what could have major implications for the entire gem community interested in Fair Trade Gems, Columbia Gem House is attempting to trademark the term, “Fair Trade Gems”.

From my understanding of this matter, if any one company owns the term “Fair Trade Gems”, no other company will be able to use it legally in the US.
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Tags: Announcements, Fair Trade, Fair Trade Gems, Fair Trade Jewelry, Rad Transparency, Transparency by Marc Choyt
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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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The Battle of Greenland Ruby
By: Ms. Tida Ravn Nuuk, Greenland

This article by Tida Ravn published in 2008 kicked off a media storm in Greenland. It gives a first hand account of the origins of the 16th August Union, the Inuit Group struggling to retain their rights to collect, polish and sell the rubies that are on their ancestral land.
~ Marc Choyt, Publisher, fairjewelry.org.
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Tags: Ethical Jewelry, Fair Trade, Fair Trade Gems, Greenland Rubies, Mining, Rad Transparency, Responsible Mining, Rubies, Transparency by Marc Choyt
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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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Introduction:

Guy Clutterbuck, who was recently featured in the GIA Winter Loop Magazine, has been sourcing gemstones in Africa and around the world for decades.

His relationships with small scale miners, based on trust, is highly unusual and stands in contrast to the generally toxic relationship between the small scale miners and their typical buyer.
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Tags: Diamonds, Environment, Ethics, Fair Trade Gems, Interviews, Rad Transparency, Transparency by Marc Choyt
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By Meghan Connolly Haupt

Meghan Connolly Haupt is a regular contributor to fairjewelry.org. Here, she reports from conferences she attended at this JCK Show.
~ Marc Choyt, Publisher.

The JCK annual jewelry show is presently taking place in Las Vegas. The show was kicked off on Thursday with a full day conference featuring 20 free seminars for jewelry retailers. To my delight, three of the four seminars I attended focused on or at least touched upon the call to action for sustainability in the jewelry sector. I use the term ‘sustainability’ to refer to business grounded in social and environmental responsibility. [Read more →]

Tags: CSR, Editorial, Ethics, Fair Trade, Fair Trade Jewelry, Green Issues, Green Wash, Mining, Rad Transparency, Responsible Mining, Spin, Transparency, Trends by Meghan Connolly Haupt
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