Fair Trade Gems
The issue of what constitutes a fair trade gemstone is complex and difficult. While large mines exist, much of what appears in the jewelry case comes out of a holding dug up by a small miner with a shovel and pick. Dealers purchase rough (unpolished gemstone still in its matrix) and sell it to others who may export it for polishing. This may then be sold to a wholesaler who presents the gem at a show. By the time a gemstone finds its way to market, it becomes impossible to trace it back to its source.
Many people in the gem industry, passionate about ethical sourcing, are working to develop traceable, ethical supply chains. But it is very difficult simply because it means developing an entirely new approach that, at least in principal, is not all that different than what is taking place in the slow food industry. Just as people want to know the link between farm to table, a group of jewelers are looking for the mine to market custody chain.
When considering fair trade, we want to go even further than tracing where the gem comes from. We also want to create as much downstream economy through beneficiation as possible. While purchasing rough from a small artisan miner in Zambia and taking that to an ethical cutting factory in Bangkok is good, having that gem cut in the village where it is mined is even better. These types of beneficiation projects are developing in Botswana and Namibia in the diamond sector.
At Artisan Wedding Rings, we attempt to develop direct relationships with small scale miners. Though we want to able to confidently tell you the story of all our gemstones, from mine to market, in some cases we simply do not know about the sourcing of our stones. The suppliers who follow this new approach focus on the high end gems: particularly fair trade rubies and fair trade sapphires. At this point, the processes are too expensive for lower end gems.
The Big Picture
What exactly constitutes a "fair trade gem" has become a political issue that mirrors the larger discussions within the fair trade community. Some people in the fair trade movement believe that fair trade must go directly to communities and cooperatives. It must be community owned and developed. Others believe that fair trade can exist on a larger scale, with investments through companies entering countries with a high level of reinvestment back into the community.
Another issue is third party certification of fair trade claims. Many in the fair trade movements strongly believe that without the third party adherence to principals and standards, the fair trade claim would not be legitimate.
Third party fair trade certification agencies, such as the Fair Labeling Organization (FLO) are accustomed only to dealing with agricultural products, and so are moving cautiously into the jewelry sector. They are concerned about the complexity of the issues and also, about whether an industry based on mining fits with their brand.
Nevertheless, jewelry companies, including this one, are still claiming to sell fair trade gems. Though methods of sourcing vary, one commonality is that everyone who claims fair trade gems can trace the product from the mine through polishing, directly to the market.
The Scenarios For Fair Trade Gems
We have three distinct scenarios involved with those who claim to supply fair trade gemstones.
The first scenario involves cooperatives of small scale miners. With few exceptions, these groups are not organized and have no way of entering the market. They rely upon middle traders who reap much of the benefit generated by these small producers. The Association of Responsible Mining (ARM) was developed for the purpose of assisting such miners, though at this point their pioneering work has focused on third party certified fair trade gold.
One exceptional group that is selling fair trade gemstones is the Tanzania Women's Mining Association (TAWOMA), which is dedicated to the entrepreneurial spirit of Tanzanian woman miners. Gems from this cooperative are mined and cut by Tanzanian women. We featured their director, Shamsa Dawani in an article in Modern Jeweler we wrote and we have purchased some gems mined and cut in Tanzania from that organization.
A second example involves pioneers such as Columbia Gems. Columbia has contracted with the Malawi government to open a mine through which they have developed their own fair trade based system. Their efforts provide a tremendous amount of benefit to the communities where they work. Many suppliers and retailers in the mainstream jewelry sector heavily depend upon Columbia's supply of production gems which are polished in China.
Columbia is such a noted pioneer in the fair trade gem arena that many leaders in the jewelry sector consider them as the only company that can claim fair trade gems. Yet some of Columbia's customers are not happy at that company's attempt to trademark the term "fair trade gems."
A third example includes working with individuals who contact the miners and develop relationships based upon a fair trade ethos. Facing malarial infested jungles, they develop trusted relationships with these miners over time. They then take the rough and cut it in a factory which they know is ethical.
These are small scale operations that depend upon the integrity of the person who develops them. Though there are many people who might work in this fashion, I source from two individuals which I've interviewed on my blog, fairjewelry.org:
• Open Source Gems
• Guy Clutterbuck
A Market In Process
In the ideal world, a fair trade gem would come from a third party certified, cooperative mining community with a broad supply of standard, celebrated stock that would enable production runs and expansive marketing. This simply does not exist because such a cooperative would have to have extensive resources. In fact, by their nature, small scale miners are disorganized, poor and have great difficulty developing an international marketing strategy that would allow them to access the potential that the market holds.
What we have instead, are just a few individuals and a small company with a limited range of gems that offer ethical mine to market custody. Those in the emerging fair trade jewelry market, including myself, continue to market the most ethical gems that the jewelry sector has to offer as fair trade. At the same time, what actually constitutes a fair trade gem is still very much a work in progress for the supplier, retailer and consumer.
The best possible scenario for anyone interested in purchasing ethical gems is to look to trace back the sourcing from mine to market.
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