CHICHESTER, England: "Customers don't realize that one wedding ring weighs 10 grams and causes three tons of toxic waste," says Greg Valerio, whose company aims to follow fair trade coffee with ethical gold jewelry.
A silver-haired antipoverty and human rights campaigner, he is at the forefront of a fast-growing global market for gold and platinum jewelry that seeks to soothe consumers' consciences and protect miners from danger and exploitation.
His jewelry shop in this southern English city has helped formed Oro Verde, or Green Gold, a partnership with miners in a cooperative in Choco, an underdeveloped region in northeast Colombia.
Together they are working with the Fairtrade Foundation, which backs farmers and workers from poor countries to develop their communities through what they call fairer terms of trade. They aim to extend Fairtrade's successful labeling to gold.
"Green gold" jewelry is a niche in a fast-growing market for ethical goods, ranging from day-to-day foodstuffs like tea, coffee and chocolate to designer fashions and travel.
Analysts say global sales of ethical gold jewelry are probably less than 1 percent of the total $56 billion gold jewelry market, based on figures from the consultancy GFMS, and the Fairtrade label is a year or so away.
Although the ethical product is priced at a premium and gold is at record highs, the market has been ballooning. Among a plethora of online offers are companies including one called greenKarat that argues that industrial mining methods damage the land and endanger ecosystems, so recycled gold would be better for society.
Katharine Hamnett, a British fashion designer, includes a link to Valerio's outlet, Cred.tv, on her Web site. He said ethics were a strong selling point in the jewelry trade: a woman would not want to receive a gift that was tarnished by exploitation.
Nor do some men want to give them. A customer of Valerio's store, Stephen McIlhenny, a deputy manager of an outdoor activities center in Devon, said he ordered a bespoke white gold engagement ring with a round diamond in November for £800, or $1,600.
"I wanted my engagement ring to have put labor and materials to good use rather than wrecking things," he said. "I wanted my fiancée to know that the gift was very special and did not put people through hardship."
The Oro Verde miners receive an income premium of roughly 10 percent over their peers in Colombia for their work, said Valerio, who has dual British and Canadian nationality and also helped found the independent, global Association for Responsible Mining, or ARM.
With donors including the aid organization Oxfam, the association aims to expand the Green Gold project to develop a framework for responsible artisanal and small-scale mining and meet growing consumer demand for sustainable jewelry and minerals.
Mine owners in many parts of the world regularly flout safety regulations to meet demand that seems insatiable - gold has been in a bull market for seven years, and on Tuesday, prices were testing fresh highs above $880 an ounce.
In South Africa, the top platinum producer in the world, more than 200 workers were killed in 2007, prompting a nationwide strike over safety. The National Union of Mineworkers has threatened more action as it urges the government to prosecute mining companies for the deaths.
The Fairtrade Foundation, which coordinates Fairtrade labeling in 20 countries including Britain, is working with ARM to explore how to develop the concept of ethical gold.
"If we get a positive board decision to proceed with Fairtrade-labeled gold, then depending on the outcome of the pilot studies to date, it would be likely that the first certified gold will be available during 2009," said Chris Davis, the policy and producer relations officer at the Fairtrade Foundation.
Cred's wedding or engagement rings typically cost about 10 percent more than average prices but are about 15 percent below the top luxury brands such as Tiffany.
"It is difficult to know how the end-consumer will respond to higher-priced ethical jewelry," said Andrew Wade, a consumer goods analyst with Seymour Pierce, an investment bank and stockbroker in London.
However sharp the demand may be, the health of the global economy will ultimately drive sales.
"But it makes sense to be in a business in a growing area," Wade added.
Source: iht
No comments:
Post a Comment