Fairtrade Fortnight 2021

This Fairtrade Fortnight we celebrate 5 years since we launched our first fully Fairtrade Gold Collection: GoldRush.

Celebrating 5 Years

I’ve delved back through the archives and want to share with you everything we’ve learnt along the way, our progress and why we are still proud to be a Fairtrade licensee.

GoldRush Collection

It's been 5 years since we launched our first fully Fairtrade collection: GoldRush. This collection helped us cement our love for working with Fairtrade Gold and is still just as relevant today as it was 5 years ago. This is why it's one of our most popular collections.

The overall objective of the Fairtrade Standard for gold is to create opportunities for artisanal and small scale miners and their communities empowering them to bring about change through trade, and delivering economic, social and environmental transformation and restoration.

Knowledge Share with Dan Odida

Back in 2016 we took part in a knowledge share with Dan Odida of the Kenyan mining cooperative MICODEPRO when he was over visiting the Fairtrade Foundation. During his visit to the studio we got to hear first hand the working conditions of artisanal and small-scale miners in Kenya and what it means for them to be working towards becoming certified.

We were able to show Dan pieces from our GoldRush Collection and he was fascinated watching me work at the bench. The final piece we showed him included the Fairtrade logo on our hallmark, which marks the final touch before we sell our pieces of Fairtrade Gold.

Minimum Fair Price

Over the last 5 years the price of gold has almost doubled. Working in some of the most extreme and remote landscapes on the planet, millions of gold miners encounter daily a world rife with exploitation and marginalisation.

Workers in Fairtrade certified gold mines receive a guaranteed Fairtrade Minimum Price for their product which is reflective of market value, cutting out unscrupulous middlemen. They also received a Fairtrade Premium, which is extra money on top of the price of their gold to spend on improving their businesses and community.

Integrity

Traceability is a key word when thinking about responsible sourcing. In order for there to be accountability you need to be able to keep track of the ore from mine to market.

When we became a Fairtrade licensee back in 2015 we were issued with our own unique FLO ID number. Every operator within the Fairtrade Gold supply chain has their own number and when a transaction occurs both numbers have to be on the corresponding document.

Not only does this verify you are buying from a trusted source but it also creates a papertrail allowing the flow of the supply to be easily accessible no matter which part (or direction) of the chain you are scrutinising.

Globally Recognised Standards

Fairtrade are one of the most recognised standards globally for supporting improvements with artisanal and small-scale mines. Tackling unfair pay and dangerous working conditions, Fairtrade gold has strict requirements on health and safety, handling chemicals and environmental protection.

In non-Fairtrade certified small-scale gold mines, miners can work in dangerous conditions with little or no health and safety equipment. Accident rates are six or seven times higher than in large-scale mining.

Miners extract gold using toxic chemicals such as mercury and cyanide. The use of these chemicals can cause birth defects, brain and kidney damage, and can contaminate water supplies, entering the food chain through poisoned fish. They simply can’t afford to use safer processing methods.

FLOCERT Audit

At the beginning of this year we undertook our first audit for the Fairtrade Foundation.

The audit was undertaken by FLOCERT who are an independent social auditing and certification body who verify that every operator in the supply chain is undertaking the correct measures to represent Fairtrade correctly.

In order to reach compliance we went through all our purchases, sales, contracts, each item in our inventory, our hallmarking and finally we undertook a mass balance. This checks that every milligram (yes, it’s that precise) of fine Fairtrade Gold is traced from mine to market: miner to wearer.

Molton MUZO Collection

We've now incorporated Fairtrade Gold into three of our jewellery collections including our Molten MUZO Collection 💚.

Responsible sourcing of our materials is at the heart of what we do so matching Muzo Emeralds Colombia 🇨🇴 with Fairtrade Gold from Peru 🇵🇪 was a natural choice for this collection.

There's nothing better than sumptuous Emeralds literally dripping in Fairtrade Gold.

Gaining Industry Recognition

Since we’ve launched our ethical jewellery collections have been making headlines and we’re always honoured to be recognised for bringing the aethetics to ethics.

RockStars Collection

With this collection we use all three rich tones of 18ct Fairtrade Gold: Red, Yellow and White.

Want to know more? Take a moment to watch the video below…

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