The economic climate has seen demand rise massively for gold, seen as a stable investment. In an opaque industry, bullions can be made up of gold from hundreds of small scale mines where people are working in dangerous conditions or handling murcury with their hands. Even more worryingly, gold is smuggled out of mines controlled by militia where horrific crimes take place, and this gets lost in a system which allows it to take place. It is increasingly important that the people mining this precious commodity do so safely and with rights. Read more on Mining the Truth on the Financial Times.
This week has seen Greg on TV in the USA and Sweden where he has been helping the jewellery industries work towards adopting Fairtrade gold standards similar to the UK's Fairtrade and Fairmined certified gold.
The USA will be launching their Fairtrade standard in 2012. Greg has been holding meetings with miners, refiners, industry groups and non-governmental organisations to get the ball rolling. He wants so set up a fairtrade supply chain for American consumers. Here he is on NBC:
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The Swedish Fairtrade organisation along with a non-profit organisation SwedWatch have recently launched a report on the Swedish jewellery industry. Here is Greg talking on Swedish channel SVT:
At CRED we receive our gold direct from the mine. It has all come from one source and hasn't been through middle-men or refined with any other gold. (Read about CRED Fairtrade gold) So we know it is possible to have a transparent and traceable supply chain - we hope the rest of the industry soon catches up.
Ultimately, the gold industry will probably only improve when consumers start demanding it. So get demanding!
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