Ethical jewelry shop provides alternative to conflict minerals – by Marco Chown Oved (Toronto Star – September 29, 2014)

The Toronto Star has the largest circulation in Canada. The paper has an enormous impact on federal and Ontario politics as well as shaping public opinion.

Pioneers have shop in Cabbagetown that sources fair-trade gold from Latin America and custom makes engagement rings.

Peek into the window of the Fair Trade Jewellery Company on Parliament St. and you’ll see display cases filled with gleaming engagement rings.

It’s a view not unlike one you’d find at other jewelry shops in town, but the gold and diamonds here have an invisible but ethical difference — they’re traced all the way from mine to finger.

“We’re purpose-built to eliminate all the worst abuses that occur in mining, from gold that fuels conflicts to the mines that use child labour,” said the shop’s co-founder and lead designer Ryan Taylor. “We work directly with mining communities to improve their practices. We want to lead by example in this industry.”

Not everyone is preoccupied by the origins of their engagement rings, but as awareness of the dangerous conditions and toxic chemicals in mining grows, ethical jewelry is emerging as an alternative.

“We knew a bit about mining,” said Carleen McGuinty, who went to the Fair Trade Jewellery Company with her husband Eric for their wedding bands. “In making this important investment, we didn’t want to look down at our fingers and feel guilty. We wanted it to honour our values and our love for each other.”

While using recycled gold was an option, once they found FTJco, they were thrilled to learn that their rings would be beneficial to Latin American miners.

“It’s a personal connection with the metal in the ring,” McGuinty said. “We’re working toward a better future, through this little thing that we can control.”

At a time when the Canadian government is funding development partnerships with mining companies to ensure that the profits from mining make it back to local people, fair trade gold provides a distinctly alternative path.

The Fair Trade Jewellery Company is the first shop of its kind in North America to visit mines and work directly with miners’ co-ops.

“We pretty much pioneered responsible sourcing through the supply chain,” Taylor said.

But finding and certifying gold isn’t as easy as selling fair-trade coffee. It all started in 2006, when a couple commissioned Taylor to fabricate their engagement ring they asked him a seemingly simple question: “where does the gold come from?”

That inquiry ended up sending Taylor on a half-dozen trips around the world to find out where gold was being mined, and how to make sure that the miners were getting a fair deal.

“I thought it would be so easy. I should be able to pick up the phone and find out. But no; the system is so disconnected,” he said.

For the rest of this article, click here: http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2015/09/28/ethical_jewelry_shop_provides_alternative_to_conflict_minerals.html