All stock must go so for 30% off engagement and wedding rings, head to 149 Sloane Street, London (the website is no longer online).

Find out more about Leblas

Katie

But now it’s Fairtrade Fortnight so what better time? And what better person to tell you about it than Greg Valerio, founder of Cred Jewellery, who has been working tirelessly to make Fairtrade gold a reality. Over to Greg…

Giving gold jewellery is about love, romance and beauty. But all too often, how gold is mined is not a pretty story. That’s why the world’s first Fairtrade and Fairmined gold from South America will go on sale in jewellery shops on Valentine’s Day.

This groundbreaking move will initially open up new opportunities for tens of thousands of impoverished small-scale and artisanal miners to sell under Fairtrade and Fairmined terms and through the Fairtrade premium invest in community projects. But Fairtrade gold has the potential to radically reform the entire gold jewellery sector improving the lives of millions of miners and their communities in some of the world’s poorest regions.

Harriet Lamb, Executive Director of the Fairtrade Foundation says:

“This crucial launch is about celebrating beauty on the inside as well as on the outside. The destruction behind gold and precious metal mining is a reality that has to change. But we want to help inform the consumer as well as inspire a shift in shoppers’ buying habits. Jewellery is beautiful, but we have a responsibility to question just how beautiful it really is by asking where gold comes from and whether those who mine it or fairly paid and treated.”

Artisanal and small-scale miners, who produce just 15% of global gold supplies, yet account for 90% of labour in gold extraction, experience high levels of poverty. The launch of Fairtrade and Fairmined certified gold provides a lifeline for communities who find themselves at the mercy of volatile markets, when agriculture and other livelihoods are not viable.

Many miners face exploitation from middle men who pay below market prices and cheat them on weight and purity of the gold content. Mining community members lack basic sanitation, clean and safe drinking water, poor housing, little or no access to education and healthcare and are financially unstable. Fairtrade and Fairmined certification is an important development tool, and will complement other development interventions.

Speaking at the launch, Manuel Reinoso Rivas, who represents the Association of Artisanal Miner Producers of Central and Southern Peru, said:

“Fairtrade and Fairmined certification motivates miners, men and women alike, to press for better working conditions and above all improved health and safety. We need to learn how to use clean, non-polluting technologies that will preserve our environment and help us recover increased quantities of metals.

“We are determined to cut the number of accidents and reduce the impact of occupational disease and help our workplaces and our communities to provide our fellow miners, our families, our wives and our children with a better quality of life and set an example to our own children and to future generations.”

The standard was first piloted by ARM with nine mining organisations in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. More producer organisations from Latin America are expected to join the system in 2011 and beyond. ARM is also establishing a network of pilot projects in Africa, and later in Asia.

Fairtrade and Fairmined gold will be initially launched in the UK and then rolled out to other countries with a long term vision of capturing 5% of the gold jewellery market over a 15-year period, totalling 15 tonnes of Fairtrade and Fairmined gold annually. Fairtrade and Fairmined gold will be co-labelled, bearing both the FAIRTRADE Mark and the FAIRMINED Mark, demonstrating the strength of the partnership between the two organisations.

What next?

• Talk to other brides and grooms in the Ethical Weddings Forum
• Sign up for our Ethical Weddings monthly newsletter

Katie

Take a look at the Leblas fair trade wedding ring collection

The collection starts at just £245 for 9ct options (perfect for our economic climate!) and goes through to 18ct.

Leblas have also launched their first 9ct fair trade gold engagement ring with a 0.2 ct Canadian diamond at £795.

View the Leblas fair trade engagement ring collection

Special offer – 20% off

Don’t forget, you still have time to take advantage of Leblas’ special February offer for Ethical Weddings readers.

Get 20% off all items in the Leblas collection until 28 February 2011 when quoting “ethicalweddings“.

Find out more about Leblas.

What next?

• Talk to other brides and grooms in the Ethical Weddings Forum
• Sign up for our Ethical Weddings monthly newsletter

Katie

Just quote ‘ethicalweddings‘ to get 20% off any item from the the Leblas range.

With Valentine’s Day in mind, the range now includes their ethical Diamond Heart Collection: heart diamond pendants (pictured), rings and earrings all made with ethical 18ct white gold sourced from Oro Verde in Colombia.

A 15% premium is paid to the miners and they work in a co-operative to ensure they protect the environment where they mine.

All the diamonds and rubies in the collection come from known sources in Canada and Tanzania where careful consideration is given to the welfare of the miners, the environment and ecology of the land, and the final price.

Whether you’re looking for a special gift for Valentine’s Day, a wedding or engagement ring, or a present for a very special bridesmaid, take a look at the Leblas collection.

Place your order by 28 February 2011 to take advantage of the 20% off special offer.

Find out more about Leblas – fine jewellery

Katie

To welcome in 2011 we’re delighted to bring you a special offer from ethical jewellery designers, Ingle & Rhode.

Maybe you took advantage of the festivities to pop the question? Or maybe you were the one to say ‘yes’.

Either way, just quote “Ethical Weddings” to get 10% off a beautiful Ingle & Rhode engagement ring or wedding band before 31 January 2011.

Find out more about Ingle & Rhode

Katie

When: Friday 26 November, 10am-6pm
Where: Unit 1.03 Clerkenwell Workshops, 27-31 Clerkenwell Close, Farringdon, London EC1R 0AT

Find out more about CRED Jewellery.

Katie

We reported back in April that the Fairtrade Labelling Organisation (FLO) and the Association of Responsible Mining (ARM) had launched Fairmined and Fairtrade standards for gold and precious metals.

Now the National Association of Goldsmiths (NAG) is putting together an ethics working committee to help connect socially and environmentally responsible mining communities with western jewellers.

Greg Valerio (founder of Cred Jewellery and co-founder of ARM) and Vivien Johnston (founder of Fifi Bijoux) will work with the NAG’s board to build a resource that jewellers can use to make sure their supplier chains are as transparent as possible.

Johnston, who has been working on auditable standards and traceability for the British Ethical Jewellery Association (BEJA) said:

The partnership between small mining communities and UK small businesses seems a natural one, however both require some support and structure to maximise the benefits to each

While Valerio, who has been working with Fairtrade Foundation in the run up to the launch of certified gold in the UK in February 2011, commented:

Some of the biggest reputational risks the jewellery trade faces today are directly linked to our supply chains. The NAG supply chain ethics working group has been established to research, review and resource jewellers in the UK with practical ways they can positively tackle the human rights and environmental issues linked to our industry

Step by step (and with a lot of hard work from committed activists like Greg and Vivien) we’re getting closer to an ethical jewellery industry.

Katie

Share your thoughts on ethical engagement and wedding rings in the Ethical Weddings Forum

Until 22 August – generous souls that they are - they’re giving us 20% off their entire collection.

So if you spot a ravishing ring you’d like for your wedding band but it isn’t in the wedding section – no problem! Or maybe you’re after a special necklace or earrings for your bridesmaid. Just quote “ethicalweddings” to get your 20% discount.

• Find out more about Leblas

Katie

Just pre-order a pair of 3mm width, 14 Carat Gold Ethical Bond©- Wedding rings by 31 May 2010 and pay for only one: £295.00

Available in white or yellow gold.

To take advantage of this offer, email sales@chocolate-couture.com with the following details:

* Your proposed wedding date
* Ring size(s)

Quote Ref: EW10

This means that by the time you say ‘I do’ you could be slipping your finger into a Fairtrade and Fairmined certified wedding ring.

What a great way to seal your vows and celebrate your new life together – with a ring that:

• helps reduce poverty faced by artisanal and small-scale gold miners
• minimises the environmental impacts of gold mining
• is completely traceable

The new Fairtrade and Fairmined gold standards will mean that interested licensees can apply for certification of gold products such as jewellery, commemorative coins, ingots, medals, trophies and religious artefacts.

Harriet Lamb, Executive Director of the Fairtrade Foundation said:

Our research shows that customers believe buying jewellery for a special occasion holds greater value and significance if it carried the Fairtrade and Fairmined hallmark. People said that the label reassures both the giver and receiver that the miners are getting a better deal.

Start asking your local jewellers now if they will be offering Fairtrade and Fairmined certified products – and if not, why not!

Fairtrade and Fairmined gold will launch in the UK first and then be rolled out to other countries with a long term vision of capturing 5% of the gold jewellery market over a 15-year period – 15 tonnes of Fairtrade and Fairmined gold annually.

• Find out more about what the Fairtrade and Fairmined standards mean for the consumer and for miners.
• Listen to the podcast on Radio 4 – ‘Fairtrade movement turns its attention to gold jewellery’ - with Greg Valerio, founder of Cred Jewellery and now working with the Fairtrade Foundation to campaign for fair trade gold, David Rhode from Ingle and Rhode ethical jewellers, and Sonya Maldar of Cafod.