Limitations & challenges

The jewellery industry has come a long way in the last 15 years and there are more genuinely ethical options for consumers than ever before but there is still plenty to do.  While its important to acknowledge the positives its also important we recognize what is still to be done and what the limitations are with the current structers and supply chains within the industry today.

solder

Solder is used to join metal together using heat, it is metal that is alloyed in such a way that it has a lower melting tempurature that other metal.  There are currently no Fairtrade solder options meaning all jewellery peices that have been soldered in their production will contain metal that is not from Fairtrade sources, if only in tiny amounts.

Silver & Platinum

There is currently very little supply of certified silver or platinum with the vast majority of this coming from Fairmined.  As alternative we offer re-cycled silver and platinum.

the kimberley process

The Kimblery process was set up in the late 90’s to help stem the flow of diamonds, primarilty from countries in Africa, that were sold to fund war. At the time of its creation, NGO’s such as Global witness gave their support to the scheme and were involved in its governance.

Sadly, since then, many NGO’s have left and denaunced the scheme as failing to protect the people at the very bottom of the diamond supply chain, whilst giving those at the top a

coloured gemstones

Coloured gemstones come from many places around the world. Whilst the Kimberley Process has many flaws, there is at least some form of tracking for diamonds whereas there is no such scheme for coloured gemstones, which can be affected by exactly the same issues as diamonds.

The coloured gemstone sector has slipped somewhat under the radar and the sheer variety of different stones and stakeholders make it a hard sector to regulate, though it is now coming under more scrutiny.

A report entitled, ‘Rough cut trade Africa’s coloured-gemstone flows to asia’ ,written by Marcena Hunter and Lynda Lawson and published by Global initiative, outline some of the problems with a focus on corruption and smuggling. These activites mean that African countries often miss out on the true value of the minerals mined in their countries and development suffers as a result.

‘‘ While individuals engaged in the smuggling of coloured gemstones may provide an immediate livelihood option to vulnerable populations who need the income, this is at the long-term expense of rule of law and establishing sustainable, fairly paid livelihoods for miners and those who help process the stones locally. As a result, in Africa, criminal control over this sector, especially by foreign actors, has deprived the continent of much of the potential economic benefits of the gemstone industry by offshoring value-adding processing.’’ (Hunter & Lawson)

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