Make diamonds fair
Apr 22nd, 2007 by Katie
Following on from our post questioning the cleanliness of Canadian diamonds, we have asked Greg Valerio of Cred Jewellery, who are pushing for fair trade diamonds, for his thoughts on the issue. Over to Greg…
Firstly, due to the Kimberley Process the likelihood of someone buying a conflict diamond is now less than 1%.
The only main source for these stones is now the Cote D’Ivoire which will account for approx $23 million in an industry worth $60 billion.
This is however still very concerning and therefore important as $23 million buys a lot of guns.
Canadian Diamonds are, however, the best current source of stones for the following reasons if bought from certain companies.
- Canada is conflict free
- Consent has been given by native groups as to the land from which they are mined
- Mining companies have had to place financial securities with the Canadian Government as a fund to be used for restoration of the environment after the mining has been finished
The stones Cred uses have been mined, cut and polished in Canada, come with a certificate of origin, and have an environmental certificate as well. Currently, it is the best system in the world, but by no means foolproof.
Canadian stones do not, however, answer the problems of poverty and exploitation in Africa and this remains a serious concern. Cred continues to work on a fair trade process for diamonds which we believe is the answer to the issues surrounding alluvial diamonds.
Campaign NGOs are exactly what they are, campaign groups, they research and highlight the negative hoping that this will bring about the change they believe is the right one. Sometimes however their solution is wrong and because they are broadly unaccountable (they call it independent) and broadly disengaged from business they do not have the required knowledge to be able to respond holistically.
They will never be able to solve the problem because they are not in the diamond business, they are on the sidelines looking in. Global Witness and Amnesty International particularly are guilty of this. They have rightly highlighted issues that were/are occuring and for that we must be thankful. But they are not the answer.
When I have spoken to them, historically, they have not really grasped the extent of the social, environmental and livelihood issues diamond diggers face (this is the real violence in the diamond industry) nor have they had any creative ideas as to how to solve the problem. This has been their great failing, focusing on conflict to the neglect of the broader and more endemic issues.
This is why we are articulating as a social business that Fair Trade and a Fair Trade Diamond will begin to address these issues. There is much work to be done to deliver this idea, but the exciting thing is that we are making good progress and I anticipate a FT stone within the next 5 years. This will be 5 years too late for many people, it is for me, but guilt is the paymaster general of inertia, hope is the mother of justice and therefore we must deliver.
For more information you are very welcome to contact us at info@credjewellery.com or visit our website www.credjewellery.com
Greg Valerio
To say that the chances of buying a conflict diamond are now less than 1% is incorrect. The conflict in Sierra Leone lasted for a decade and millions of dollars worth of diamonds were shipped all over the world. Those diamonds did not disappear to become clean because the war in Sierra Leone ended or because the Kimberly Process was enacted. Those diamond and diamonds from conflict regions all over the world are still in circulation.
Canada is not conflict free. Diamonds from conflict regions are “laundered” when they are smuggled into Canadian mines.
Diamond gift giving is “tradition” manufactured by DeBeers to move it’s products. Let’s start a new tradition.
Global witness actually estimate conflict diamonds to be somewhere between 0.5 and 20% of all sales! The wider issue is also that there are huge human rights and other issues beyond conflict diamonds. Examples include corruption, poor-sanitation for miners, the conditions in mining towns such as Kono district in Sierra Leone, child labor etc.
The big problem is that if we stop buying African diamonds and buy exclusively Canadian diamonds we severely damage the African economies. This is why we at Blood-Diamond.co.uk set up the Conflict Neutral program (www.conflictneutral.com) where a donation is made with each sale which goes to projects aimed to improve matters. We made sure everything is accountable and it is not for profit so nobody can accuse us of being cynical.
This is a could be seen as a little ethically murky because we are saying to people that they should buy diamonds in full knowledge that there are issues attached. However, there is no better option in our view because of the impact of withdrawing sales. Maybe this way we can put enough resources to invest in a conflict free future.
Martin Saunders
Blood Diamond Ltd.
http://www.blood-diamond.co.uk http://www.conflictneutral.com
Hi, I’ve just been reading up on the comments on fair trade diamonds. Fifi Bijoux is my own ethical jewellery label and I wanted to make a few notes on the issues of fair trade diamonds v synthetics.
Whilst I prioritise fairly traded materials (gold & gems; including fairly traded mined diamonds from Lesotho which are cut & polished in fair trading indian cooperatives) there is a limit to whats available - particularly in diamonds. If a client is very specific on the diamond they want (clarity/colour/carat) I may not be able to access that from the Lesotho project, in which case I would offer a Canadian diamond from Polar Bear mines. Mossanite sales are growing where they may not have otherwise since the Blood Diamond was released. However, I will not use these in my jewellery as I have no way of verifiying the conditions in which these are produced. Synthetic stones are subject to treatments which involve chemicals, heat treating or sometimes significant levels of irradiation. The are also just as open as natural stones to being cut & polished by child labour or by exploited workers. I do not believe synthetic diamonds or gems make a contribution ‘on the ground’ to the miners, or currently address the labour issues within many chinese & indian cutting workshops. If anyone knows otherwise though, I would love you to get in touch , as synthetics are as yet untouched by any ethical standards that I’m aware of and yet are a huge export market for asia. I am an advocate of fair trade and social & enviromental responsibility in the whole supply chain for the jewellery industry. In terms of diamonds, I believe we need a 4 pronged approach :
1. fair trade model to be implemented in more diamond mining sites, with priority to the most impoverished areas.
2. Education - if the miners have knowledge of how to grade & sort diamonds they can command the proper price for these and will not be subject to exploitation at this level
3. Adding value in the country of orgin by cutting & polishing instead of exporting these to do so; or exporting these to workshops which are also fair trading co-operatives with proper ILO standards & environmental stewardship
4. Transparency. This is the key to the whole issue of ethics in the jewellery suppy chain. Then consumers can make informed choices about the materials want. Speaking as someone who knows Greg, he is not using an easy option by using Canadian diamonds - this is simply the best choice available if you are to have a transparent supply chain which supports brand values. Creating a certified fair trade diamond is a mammoth task - there are a very few number of ethical jewellers and a whole industry who stand in the way of making these changes. It will take time, it wont happen overnight. But it is happening, people (with your support)! Fifi xxxxx http://www.fifibijoux.com