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Though paying a ‘fair price’ for a valuable asset sounds like a given, the term ‘fair trade’ was in fact coined less than 100 years ago, with the first official fair trade supply chain established in 1946. In the jewellery industry, fair trade principles did not emerge until as recently as the early 2000s. The relative novelty of fair trading as a conscious concept reveals a lot about the imperialistic foundations of today’s world, but the fair trade movement should nevertheless be credited for driving crucial change over the last two decades.
As of 2023, the global jewellery market was valued at approximately $320 billion, making it double the size of the music and book publishing industries combined. Expected to continue growing steadily to a value of $400 billion by 2027, the impact of the jewellery market is colossal.
Although it’s not possible for us to discuss all of the jewellery industry’s atrocities at length in one short blog post, we can say that it’s the exploitation of human beings which called for fair trade systems in the first place.
Here’s how those 10 Fair Trade Principles work to address this issue on a granular level…
Fairtrade Gold was founded in 2012 (pioneered by our founder Arabel Lebrusan and a small handful of other specially selected jewellers around the world!) to grant artisanal and small-scale miners (ASM) access to international gold markets. Historically – and still largely to date – non-certified ASM miners are exploited by middlemen who pay below-market rates, forcing them into a suffocating existence of working simply to survive on the bare minimum. With Fairtrade certification, ASM miners are in charge of selling their own gold, receiving universally agreed fees which they can reinvest in themselves, their communities and their own working conditions.
In mid-2017, the Limata gold mine in Puno, Peru, made the decision to work towards Fairtrade certification, based on the positive experience of Fairtrade certified coffee cooperatives nearby. Since becoming certified, Limata now exports 100% of its gold into international markets, having visited market partners in Switzerland and around Europe to gain full visibility of the gold supply chain, all the way through to finished pieces of Fairtrade Gold jewellery.
Embracing fair trade principles as a jewellery business or organisation is about maintaining transparent operations and decision-making processes that build trust amongst customers and peers.
The Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) promotes transparency by requiring its members to undergo regular third-party audits to ensure compliance with its Code of Practices. Normalising this level of accountability strengthens public reporting, increases due diligence in supply chains, minimises the risk of corruption, challenges misleading or deceptive marketing practises, ensures compliance with international labour conventions and ultimately protects the health and safety of people and environments.
Trading fairly is as simple as paying producers properly and promptly for their goods, ensuring long-term sustainability for their businesses. Our friends Nineteen48 work closely with responsible, small-scale gemstone mines in Sri Lanka, Tanzania and Australia to bring fully traceable, ethical gemstones to the UK market. They commit to workers being paid equal to or above the national living wage, leveraging their position in the supply chain to support economic development in the countries they source from. Working exclusively with native suppliers, they ensure that everyone in the picture is compensated for their work fairly and on time.
Not dissimilar to the last principle, this one does as it says on the tin: Stating that producers must be paid a price that covers the costs of production and guarantees a decent living wage.
Yani R.L. is a gold mining cooperative in La Paz, Bolivia, that achieved Fairmined certification in 2017. A little like Fairtrade Gold, Fairmined is a gold assurance label developed by the Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM) to certify gold from empowered ASM mining operations. Thanks to the Fairmined Standard of responsible practise, when you buy Fairmined Gold, you can rest assured that you're supporting mines where fair wages are default. The gold miners at Yani R.L. earn significantly more for their work than those working in non-certified operations in the city, receiving an additional Fairmined Premium of up to 4,000 USD per kilo as a reward for achieving certification. These funds have enabled the miners to invest in better equipment, increasing their efficiency and ensuring safer working conditions for themselves and their communities.
Sadly, it’s no secret that hazardous working conditions are commonplace in mining industries, with millions of ASM miners worldwide forced to work back-breaking hours in dangerous conditions, which include treacherous structures, poor lighting, unsafe machinery, a lack of health and safety equipment, and constant exposure to toxic chemicals like mercury, which can lead to lifelong health problems. As per the Fair Trade principles, producers and workers are entitled to safe, healthy working environments, where strict standards are maintained. In order to gain coveted Fairtrade or Fairmined Gold certification, any given mine must undergo a rigorous health and safety audit by a third party, and prepare for regular compliancy check-ins.
Fair trade encourages gender equity and equal opportunity, particularly empowering women in the workplace. From a lack of maternity leave to a lack of zero-tolerance policies towards gender-based harassment and discrimination, a lack of properly-fitting PPE and a yawning gender pay gap, roughly 53% of women in mining reported facing discrimination and 37% facing sexual harassment in a 2021 study.
In mining communities in Uganda, Fairtrade Gold has supported women miners since 2017 by providing them with training in safe mining practices and entrepreneurial skills, enabling them to play a more authoritative role in mining cooperatives, ultimately helping them to break the cycle of poverty and contribute to their households. Meanwhile, Centre de Resolution Conflits – the NGO partnered with PeaceGold - supports women who had previously been involved in the gold refining process involving mercury as they move into alternative employment through retraining. This has included setting up and running their own businesses and becoming community liaison officers.
According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), over 1 million children are estimated to work in artisanal and small-scale gold mines worldwide, largely in hazardous conditions. In Mali alone – one of Africa’s largest producers of artisanal gold - it’s reported that around 20,000 children work in mines, forced to endure long hours, heavy duty physical labour and harmful substances, denied access to education and childhood and perpetuating cycles of poverty. Fair trade initiatives like Fairtrade Gold and Fairmined Gold have been instrumental in addressing these issues by explicitly prohibiting the employment of children under 15 or the forced use of slaves in certified mines, enforcing compliance with international labour standards as certification becomes increasingly desirable amongst informal mines.
Meanwhile the aforementioned PeaceGold is an initiative turning gold into a source of peace and community development in Ituri, the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has suffered an ongoing armed conflict between the Lendu and Hema ethnic groups since 1999. Throughout, there have been widespread reports of collusion between rebel groups and the national army to illegally exploit, tax and trade minerals, money and arms and engage in modern-day slavery. PeaceGold is on a mission to help artisanal mines in the area legitimise their practices by implementing necessary protections of labour and human rights, subsequently adhering to international standards that enable the sale of gold to international markets, instead of funding illicit activities and conflict.
When we talk about ‘building capacity’, capacity is the operative word. Similar to a cup’s capacity for liquid, the figurative definition of capacityin this context refers to the knowledge held by a human being. Capacity building is a case of ensuring sustainable autonomy through the development of skills. Since its founding in 2007, Fairmined has allocated a Premium fund for ASM miners and their communities, a percentage of which is always allocated to education and training. Largely, courses are delivered in extracting gold without the use of toxic chemicals, enhancing productivity, practicing health and safety, and fostering cooperative practises that ensure this knowledge is shared effectively between cooperative members.
It’s the responsibility of ethical jewellers like us to actively promote fair trade principles – just as we are through this blog post.
Viewing the world through the lens of the Doughnut Economics framework – which concerns itself with the simultaneous needs of human beings and the planet we inhabit – we know that the relationship between our wellbeing and that of Mother Earth is inextricable. Whether we care to acknowledge it or not, humankind relies fundamentally on a stable climate, a healthy ozone and thriving ecosystems for long-term survival. That’s why fair trade systems strive for environmental regeneration and sustainability, encouraging producers to minimise their impact on natural resources.
In the Coodmilla mining cooperative of La Llanada, Colombia, for example, Fairmined Ecological Gold is extracted without the use of any toxic chemicals whatsoever – and has been for four generations. Deeply in tune with Mother Nature, this mining community is grateful of the mountain’s gifts, repaying the favour with a gentle approach to mining that doesn’t threaten the safety of water supplies or surrounding natural habitats. The reward for this harmonious existence is not just Fairmined certification, but the prospect that gold mining may continue to serve their community for many generations to come.
Those who appreciate jewellery must also acknowledge its roots in colonialism. It’s our responsibility to question the western world’s monopolisation of beautiful things and our deep-rooted associations of the ‘third world’ with inferior human life. Charitable donations alone are not enough if people continue to be viewed as wealth-generating tools, entrapped by exploitative trade agreements, back-breaking working conditions and an ultimate lack of alternative options.
Thankfully, fair trade initiatives foster structures that aim to close wealth gaps, redistribute authority and amplify the voices of those at the roots of supply chains – the voices we should all be listening to. By adhering to these simple fair trade principles and working only with materials and suppliers who do too, we are working towards restorative justice, embracing jewellery as a beautiful tool to change the world one gram of gold at a time.
It's possible to embrace the beautiful materials that Mother Nature offers us without harming our beautiful planet. By asking questions, simplifying supply chains and sharing our knowledge with the world, we can achieve this balance.
