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Press Release: One hundred small jewelers have applied to register as Fairtrade Gold goldsmiths in just three months of the new scheme, with a potential collective clout to deliver $100,000 in fair trade premium back to artisanal and small scale mining communities in South America. Fairtrade Gold’s unique system now allows small jewelers, goldsmiths, silversmiths and artists to use ethically sourced fair trade gold and silver in their jewelry by registering with Fairtrade Gold’s simple online Goldsmiths Registration Scheme. The scheme is already playing a vital role in the ethical transformation of the jewelry sector, with plans afoot to create a range of products from wedding bands to luxury bespoke jewelry and commemorative coins. Reena Agarwal, the commercial account manager for Fairtrade Gold, said, “It’s a great time for small jewelers to engage with fair trade. The ethical jewelry market is rapidly growing and the FAIRTRADE Mark is the most widely recognized ethical certification label globally. Fair trade has a strong brand profile with high awareness, good top level understanding of fair prices paid to producers and is very well trusted. “Fairtrade Gold and precious metals is a ground breaking initiative that offers a lifeline to poor and exploited small-scale miners around the world. It is the best way to communicate the benefits of responsibly sourced metal to customers. As well as our registered jewelers, we also have 50 full licensees buying larger volumes of gold who are permitted to stamp their jewelry.” Small jewelers purchase certified Fairtrade Gold and precious metals from a choice of five dedicated master licensees in a semi-finished form, such as sheet, wire, tube or casting grain. The benefits of the scheme include free annual registration and very little administration. In return those joining agree to abide by certain terms and conditions that include only using certain predetermined marketing materials and agreeing to the annual limits of 500g of gold or platinum or 2kg’s of silver. Finished product does not carry the Fairtrade stamp. “Together, small jewelers have the opportunity and numbers to transform the national market and contribute toward improving the lives of marginalized artisanal and small scale miners through the power of their creativity,” she added. Since becoming Fairtrade Gold certified, mining groups surviving in arid desert landscapes have been able to invest in projects for water, electricity and the improvement of education and health projects including study and sports grants for students. Groups have also improved safety procedures and equipment and introduced new technologies to advance production methods and increase the amount of gold they can extract. For more information on participating in the Fairtrade Goldsmith Registration Scheme, please visit www.fairgold.org for further information. · Around the world small scale mining employs about 15 million miners. As many as 100 million people depend on it for their livelihoods. · Fairtrade Gold was first launched in 2011 in the U.K. closely followed by launches in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands and South Korea. Discussions are currently underway to introduce certified gold in the U.S. and Switzerland in the near future. · The Fairtrade Minimum Price for pure gold is set at 95 percent of the London Bullion Market Association’s (LBMA) fix plus a Fairtrade Premium of $2,000 per kilogram of fine gold bought from the mines. Platinum is set at 95 percent LMBA + Fairtrade Premium of 15 percent; silver is 95% LMBA + Fairtrade Premium of 10 percent. The LBMA fix is the international agreed price for gold. Artisanal and small-scale miners (ASM) producers in the mainstream get anything from 50 percent to 85 percent of the LBMA fix. · Miners can earn a premium of 15 percent on top of their sale price when they recover and process gold without the use of harmful chemicals such as mercury and cyanide. · Certified miners must use safe and responsible practices for managing toxic chemicals in gold recovery. Chemicals have to be reduced to a minimum and where possible eliminated over an agreed time period. · Child and forced labor is prohibited under Fairtrade standards, and Fairtrade monitoring stamps it out wherever it is found. · The FAIRTRADE Mark is a certification mark and a registered trademark of Fairtrade International. The mark is licensed on products that meet international fair trade standards. Today, more than 1.3 million people producers across 70 developing countries benefit from the international fair trade system. Rapaport News is not responsible for, and does not endorse, the content of any third-party press release. This is not a Rapaport Press Release. It has been provided as additional information for our clients.
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