FAIR TRADE GOLD

*A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO ETHICS AND GOLD

Fair-trade gold is a hot topic in jewellery at the moment, as consumers begin to be more concerned not just with the aesthetic of their piece but the ethical and environmental impacts of their jewellery. Due to this increasing awareness and concern, especially among young customers, people have been seeking out more environmentally and human friendly alternatives. This can be seen, at least in Australia, in consumers’ choices around diamonds and gemstones, but also in materials such as gold.

Fair-trade gold is an independent ethical certification for gold mining and manufacturing. Fair-trade International is an organisation concerned with ensuring that the individuals involved in production are not only paid a fair wage, but are provided with the means and resources to protect themselves from exploitation and also to manufacture and produce in a way that is not only healthy and beneficial to them but to the world at large. It is designed to combat exploitation, slavery, child labour and unsafe working conditions. The Fair-trade mark is commonly seen in retailers, especially on foodstuffs such as chocolate. 

Fair-trade became involved in gold in 2011, and works by supporting artisanal and small-scale miners. These miners are especially vulnerable, as they can be operating under unsafe conditions and are frequently disenfranchised by larger manufacturers who have the government’s support. 

Gold mining is especially likely to have unsafe conditions, as it often uses heavy metals to bind gold particles to enable their ease of extraction. Mercury is extremely common in this process, and due to limited regulation and the sometimes illegal operations, the miners and their families are very vulnerable to the effects of this heavy metal. It also takes a great toll on the environment. The heavy metal pollution in turn then has an effect on all those in proximity but not involved in gold mining. 

This is then combined with deforestation and human interference in water supply. As gold is often found in and near rivers, small-scale miners often illegally deforest areas, dam water and excavate without the ability to evaluate their impacts on the environment. Their livelihood understandably, takes precedence, and there is not often the alternative or the education required to change this cycle. 

Small scale gold miners are also at risk from pressure and involvement with organised crime groups and money laundering. In South America, many small scale gold miners are put under pressure by organised crime cartels to produce gold in order to facilitate money laundering. Once raw gold is smelted for bullion, it becomes impossible to trace its origins, making it extremely attractive to those who want to move money without legal interference. 

Fair-trade gold is purchased at a set minimum price, equating to about 95% of the benchmark London Bullion Market. There is then an additional premium offered through Fair-trade that is given to the miners cooperatives that they are able to allocate as they see fit. This can be used to increase safety, education or health. Fair-trade also works with the miners to provide education and awareness, and to help them determine what their needs are in regards to their industry. 

In turn, the miners are prohibited from engaging as part of the agreement with Fair-trade in practices such as discrimination, forced labour and child labour. 

Going into the future, Fair-trade gold and its promotion will be extremely important to both the consumer, but also for its effects on the producers and the environment. 

Fair-trade gold can be more expensive per gram than local gold provided by large companies, as well as a registration fee that is required by Fair-trade as well as license fees and certification. These are not prohibitively expensive for large or small businesses, but require effort and capital. 

In Australia, there is not much publicity about Fair-trade gold – but this is not necessarily a negative.

There may be a number of reasons for this, including that local gold is often promoted by our bullion and casting houses. As Australia is a producer of gold, these companies often capitalise on local manufacturing rather than supplying fair-trade gold. Unfortunately, they are not able to guarantee that the gold provided is 100% Australian sourced unless buying a kilogram minimum, making this impossible for many small businesses. This green-washing is very common, and may be a factor in the low Australian participation of Fair-trade gold. 

It is also uncommon in Australia for manufacturers to cast their own pieces. The majority of jewellers use large casting houses, the same casting houses that supply bullion and fabricated metal. They will only use their own gold in casting, and none of these at present offer Fair-trade gold. There has been an uptake among these manufactures in joining the Responsible Jewellery Council, with one guaranteeing that its gold is 100% Australian mined. This is an exciting development, and hopefully will be combined with Fair-trade in the future. 

It would be great to see more focus on Fairtrade gold in Australia in the future.

Within Australia, the focus is usually on Australian mined gold, but I believe that if combined with Fair-trade gold, there is a real and rare opportunity for Australian jewellers to be a part of sustainable gold in the future. 

Sources:

Impacts of Small-Scale Gold Mining in South America. https://bassconnections.duke.edu/virtual-showcase/impacts-small-scale-gold-mining-south-america

Coexistence of artisanal gold mining with companies in Latin America. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214790X22001496

https://artisanalgold.org/south-america/

https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/organized-crime-and-illegally-mined-gold-in-latin-america/

Global Initiative against Transnational Organised Crime – Organised Crime and Illegally Mined Gold. https://globalinitiative.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Organized-Crime-and-Illegally-Mined-Gold-in-Latin-America.pdf 

https://fairtradeanz.org/product/more-products

https://www.fairtrade.org.uk/buying-fairtrade/gold/

https://www.larsenjewellery.com.au/ethics/fairtrade-gold

https://fairtradeanz.org/for-business/get-certified/introduction-to-fairtrade-gold

https://www.palloys.com/accreditation

https://chemgold.com/aboutus

---

More questions? Ask below, or submit with your contact details.