Zimbabwe Allowed to Remain Part of Kimberley Process

As a perfect example of the failing of the the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme (KP), Zimbabwe, a country whose sale and trade of blood diamonds is well documented, is allowed to remain a member of the organization.

According to the Wall Street Journal, KP members decided instead to send a monitor to Zimbabwe to supervise the country’s diamond production and impose a 12-month timeline for reforms.

Under the agreement, Zimbabwe is banned from exporting any stones from the Marange fields until the monitor arrives, which could take weeks or even months.

The decision not to suspend Zimbabwe came as a shock to many as there is much evidence to prove that Zimbabwe is in fact trading in blood diamonds.

• In May, Ian Smillie, one of the founders of the Kimberley Process stepped down stating that KP was failing and that he could no longer associate with the effort.
• In June, the organization Human Rights Watch released a report that detailed how Zimbabwe’s armed forces were forcing children and adults into labor, and torturing and beating local villagers on the Marange fields.
• In July, a KP review mission visited the South African nation and reports circulated that the KP team had recommended a six-month suspension for Zimbabwe.
• Following the events of the summer, various industry organizations, including the World Diamond Council and the International Diamond Manufacturers Association, called upon the governments that comprise the KP to take action in ending  the problems in Zimbabwe.

More on ‘60 Minutes’ panic

My good friend and colleague, Marc Choyt who writes the Fair Jewelry blog, also wrote about the reaction to the upcoming 60 Minutes piece about gold from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Read our original post then read Marc’s opinion on the issue. Like me, he sees the CBS coverage as an opportunity, not an attack.

Composite rubies being sold as natural at major department store

ABCs ‘Good Morning America’ show revealed this week that Macy’s department store was selling composite rubies as natural gems.

The five-and-a-half minute story, produced by Good Morning America, sheds light on the fact that certain department stores are selling composite rubies–those that are a mix of natural ruby and lead-glass–without proper disclosure to their customers. As you would imagine, composite rubies have far less value than a natural ruby and are less durable. Without knowing what you are purchasing, you wouldn’t know how to care for the jewelry or if you are getting a good deal.

While in a Macy’s during the undercover excursion, the correspondents were blatantly told that the pieces they were buying contained real rubies, weren’t treated and didn’t need any special care.

More information about this story on National Jeweler.

CBS’s ‘60 Minutes’ exposes gold mining, retailers lash out at media

“JA warns industry about ‘60 Minutes‘ segment” screams the top of the article on National Jeweler.

I think it is appropriate, given the mission of Jewelers of America (JA) and National Jeweler (NJ), for them to inform the thousands of traditional jewelry retailers across the country about consumer education that could have a significant impact on their businesses. Those organizations are set up to help traditional retailers be successful, so it seems logical that they would “warn” their constituents. They even offer some advice on how to handle potential backlash in a positive way.

What I do find unfortunate about this situation is that the mainstream retailers don’t seem to be using this as an opportunity to learn more about the issues. Instead, the retailers are attacking the media for covering the issue. Retailers appear to feel personally attacked and like the media is only reporting the issue to stifle holiday sales.

The article on NJ is fairly unbiased, but the comments provided by the retailers are frankly appalling. Not one person has said “hey, let’s take this information and see what we can do to make gold mining more sustainable.” What is clear from the comments is that a lot of jewelry retailers couldn’t care less about sustainability or the people in developing countries most impacted by the mining industry.

Read the comments for a little insight into the mentality of some traditional jewelry retailers.

Fight for rights of Greenland’s gems

Greenland, the world’s largest island, is a self‐governing Danish province located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, East of the Canadian Arctic. Many gemstones have been found in Greenland including diamonds, rubies, and pink sapphires to name just a few. The past several years have marked a complicated struggle of the mineral resources between the government and the indigeous people.

In 1966, ruby was first discovered in West Greenland. In 2004, True North Gems (TNG), a medium-sized Canadian mining company, obtained an exclusive exploration license of a 3600 square kilometer area.

The fight for native mineral rights in Greenland gained momentum and public attention when William Rohtert, a geologist and gemologist from Los Angeles and who had worked for TNG, got involved. Rohtert had deep empathy for the Greenland marginalized people, particularly for the Inuit. He is of Native American ancestry and this coupled with his professional skills made him ideally positioned to help the artisanal miners in their struggle against the Danish.

With the help of Rohtert, the indigenous people including Niels Madsen, learned how to professionally prospect, facet and polish gems. He also imparted true knowledge of their wealth and value, which created conflict with True North Gems and the Danish run Bureau for Minerals and Petroleum (BMP).

On the 16th of August, 2007, Madsen and friends went to protest their rights in law by prospecting ruby on the TNG exploration site. In Danish mineral law TNG had no exploitation license that would have granted them exclusivity and therefore had no legal power to stop the protest.

TNG called in the BMP to arrest and confiscate the ruby collected by Niels and his four friends. This action by BMP was not strictly lawful, but the lack of accountability meant that they had the power.

This injustice catalyzed the creation of the 16th August Union, which takes its name from the infamous date the miners were arrested. The arrest led to an island wide clamp down on all indigenous local people having rights to gem mining.

The 16th August Union is Greenland’s first official small-scale miners association. The aim of the union is to work with the with the Danish Bureau for Minerals and Petroleum (BMP) to reach a fair agreement that allows indigenous people right to the land.

Since then, the BMP have ignored reasoned argument for responsible small scale mining. They have hired lawyers to construct erroneous interpretations of Danish laws to cover up their behavior and to protect the vested interests of TNG.

More information about Greenland’s fight for gem rights is available at FairJewelry.org.

Don’t eat the fish – or buy the gold.

We’ve all heard about high levels of mercury found in fish, but seldom does anyone discuss the cause.

There are an estimated 15-16 million artisanal and small scale gold Miners working in 55 developing countries around the world accounting for approximatey 25% of all gold produced annually. Artisanal small scale miners are the equivalent of subsistence farmers who barely produce enough for their own survival.

Ninety five percent of gold mined today is just dust, which is extremely time consuming and laborious to pan. Harvesting these small flakes from the ore, has traditionally been done using mercury amalgamation, which has had devastating environmental impacts.

Mercury releases from small scale gold mining are the second leading cause of mercury pollution on the planet behind the burning of fossil fuels. It is estimated that 1000 tons of mercury are released into the environment annually by small scale miners alone. The process results in mercury vapors released into the atmosphere as well as mercury waste entering the water system.

Exposure to mercury has been attributed to poor fetus development and neurological damage.

More information at Artminers.org

Research points to need for sustainability and innovation in jewelry sector

Two trends in consumer behavior that could possibly relieve much of the industry’s stress are being largely ignored by traditional jewelry retailers. The first trend points to better online options and the second to greater accountability and responsibility.

• Jewelry sector is a $76 billion industry in the US alone
• Since 2006, the % of the world’s population that has made a purchase over the Internet increased by approximately 40%
• Wealthy consumers preferring socially responsible brands increased by 12 percent between 2006 and 2007

Read the full article on FairJewelry.org

Alaskans say NO to gold mine

[Pebble Mine, an open-pit gold and copper mine planned in Bristol Bay, Alaska, is being met with opposition by community groups and major jewelry retailers alike.]

A collaboration between Anglo American PLC and Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd., the Pebble Mine would be situated in the Bristol Bay watershed in southwest Alaska. Though the companies claim that the project would be carried out with minimal environmental impact, residents of Bristol Bay are concerned that the mine would cause irreversable damage, specifically to the salmon industry. Bristol Bay is home to the world’s largest sockey salmon fishery, which is indeed the backbone of the local economy.

According to a survey conducted by Craciun Research, an Alaska-based research firm, which sampled more than 400 residents, 73% of residents are strongly opposed to Pebble Mine.

In addition to community concern, a number of jewelry companies including Tiffany & Co. and Helzberg Diamonds have vowed to boycott any gold mined at Pebble.

Child labor still an issue in jewelry industry

[Seven years after the end of the civil war that targeted children for atrocities, hundreds of children are still exploited as labor in diamond mines.]

The issue of child labor received significant attention with the 2006 blockbuster movie “Blood Diamond,” but quickly fell out of consumer consciousness. The Kimberley Process, a voluntary certification established to prevent the sale of diamonds from funding armed conflict in developing countries, was largely held up as a solution that consumers bought into.

A recent report released by the US Department of Labor (DoL) concludes that child labor exists in the diamond activities of several countries including The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Based on 15 years of investigation, the DoL report states that children are working in India’s gem cutting industry and in the metal mining industry (gold and silver) as well in countries such as Bolivia, Colombia, Peru, North Korea and Tanzania to name just a few.

In addition to child labor, the DoL report cites Sierra Leone for using forced labor as well. These findings seem to be consistent with a 2009 report published by the Harvard University Human Rights Program.

The end of conflict in Sierra Leone has not improved the lives of children working in the mines according to the report called “Digging in the Dirt.” Many children have been forced to work in the mines for survival after their parents were killed in the civil war.

[information about the DoL report was gathered from Idexonline.com]

Another luxury expert calls for sustainability

In his opinion piece that recently appeared on Luxury Society, Jeffrey Hutchison joins a growing list of luxury experts calling for sustainability in the luxury sector.

“We must look for significant ways to minimize the industry’s impact on the world’s resources, and it takes more than simply installing a bamboo floor to satisfy this objective. Looking at the organization’s construction and operational practices can facilitate a real green strategy,” said Hutchison.

He concluded by saying that “embracing sustainability and crafting a new face of luxury need not be at odds; indeed by exploring ways to achieve both simultaneously an exciting new era of of design can be borne.”

Jeffrey Hutchison is the founder of Jeffrey Hutchison & Associates, a luxury retail design firm. He has consulted Barney’s New York, Theory, Nautica and Ralph Lauren among other international brands.