Know Everything About Fair Trade Jewelry: The Challenges and Rewards
of an Emerging Movement
Searching the
web for "fair trade jewelry" will pull up a number of
companies. Fair Trade Jewelry, as certified by the International Fair
Trade Labeling Organization, (FLO) does not exist. Yet fair trade, as
a concept to the general public, basically translates to a livable
wage, fair working conditions and environmental safe guards for the
production in cooperatives in the developing world. How much FLO owns
the concept of fair trade, which they have certainly developed, is an
open question.
In labeling
their products as fair trade, jewelry producers are expanding or
exploiting the concept to the public. Depending upon your
perspective, you could view these companies as "fair
washing" or as working within the spirit of the fair trade
movement. The ambiguity of the current state of this movement will be
addressed in a meeting sponsored by the Earthworks Action this
upcoming October, 2007. Earthworks Action, which started the "No
Dirty Gold Campaign," has laid the ground work for this meeting
which will being key players together, through the Madison dialogues.
A few small
companies are producing artisan or ethnic "fair trade"
jewelry in village settings, which come closer to the fair trade
concept. These companies who would be considered "fair
trade" only discount the environmental effects of where they
source their metal and gems. Organic certification is tied to the
fair trade concept and jewelry involves practices which inherently
are destructive to the environment.
These small
niche companies actually represent a negligible share of the main
stream jewelry sector, where the ethically sourced issue gained a
little prominence partly as a result of the film, Blood Diamonds,
released in December, 2006. Diamond business comprises over fifty
percent of all jewelry business in the US.
The first
certification from FLO international has focused on the artisan
mining efforts of ARM. A contract between FLO and ARM was signed in
July, 2007. TransFair USA, the American certifying agent for the fair
trade label, is not in agreement with FLO International, though at
the JCK Fair Trade Meeting, they expressed an interest in pursuing
large scale mining as a potential area for certification. This whole
process is going to take several years.
The current
number of people in the jewelry industry involved in fair trade is
quite small at this point. Eric Brauwart, founder and President of
Columbia Gem House, has created a solid system for fair trade
gemstones. Martin Rapaport, one of the key players in the diamond
trade and Kimberly Certification, has been solidly behind fair trade,
raising the profile of the movement as a whole.
Many other
smaller players are attempting to produce ethically sourced jewelry,
but they are limited because neither the market nor the supply chain
for production is there. A small manufacturing company can have
thousands of inventory pieces from all over the world. Very few
precious and semi-precious stones are even claimed to be fair trade
produced. Though not technically fair trade, one positive recent
development is that Hoover and Strong is now offering recycled
precious metal at competitive prices for jewelers who are interested
in environmentally friendly sourcing.
Outside of
sourcing, the manufacturing of jewelry is going to be extremely
difficult to mold into the fair trade cooperative model. I am most
familiar with work out of Bali. Their hand silver work is arguably
the finest in the world, and it is steeped in tradition. To
manufacture on a large scale, many companies operating out of Bali
will take an item and distribute it to the local villages. Each
artisan will purchase the silver in its raw form which they will
refine in order to create their own sterling, which is .925 percent
fine. The product that comes back is often inconsistent and often is
not sterling silver, as hallmarked. This type of system does not work
well when there are exacting quality control issues and a strict on
time delivery.
Jewelry
manufacturing on a large scale therefore, does not easily fit the
small village model as textiles or some agricultural product might
for other reasons as well. There is the initial investment of
expensive equipment and the cost of silver and gold just to produce
an order...
One of the
most significant recent developments in fair trade manufacturing is
an effort out of South Africa, (LINK) where villagers have been
trained into the jewelry trade. African countries rich in raw
materials for jewelry want to be more involved in jewelry production
to increase their manufacturing base. Eventually, with supervision
and much support, cooperatives are formed. This model is heavily
subsidized by NGOs and private corporations, which means it will be
difficult to duplicate in other countries that might not have that
kind of resource base.
Despite the
challenges, there is strong support among a small group of people in
the jewelry trade to address these issues. Many in the forefront of
this movement believe it is only a matter of time before those who
purchase their jewelry strongly connect to the manufacturing process
as well. Jewelry is usually purchased to mark an occasion or a
commitment. For others, it is about having something beautiful. How
would the customer feel knowing that the gem they purchased funded a
civil war or that the ring they bought for their mother was made in
toxic working conditions in a third world sweat shop? What man would
ever knowingly purchase a conflict diamond to complete an engagement ring?
Yet that is
exactly what has happened in the past, and the movement in fair trade
shows that at least some segments of the jewelry
industry are determined to change the way business is being done. The
percentage of people who are concerned enough about corporate social
responsibility is the same demographic that supports the organic
movement-it is a strong and growing segment of the population. How
fast the fair trade movement takes hold also depends to a large
degree upon how much pressure the public exerts.
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