Support increases for ethical jewellery as Fairtrade silver arrives in UK

As the two-year anniversary of the launch of the mark for gold approaches, and following 10 years of work by CRED Jewellery, the arrival of certified silver marks a huge turning point in the future of ethical jewellery.

The silver, which CRED brought back from Peru in December, comes from the Sotrami mine, one of the mines certified as Fairtrade and Fairmined. The silver is found in small quantities alongside the deposits of gold, and so receives the same mark.

The inaugural trip for the silver was met with joy by director of CRED, Alan Frampton. “It is so exciting to have silver now join gold in this certification, made possible through the increasing demand from consumers for ethical metals,” he said.

CRED has been working directly with miners to develop standards, safe working practices and fair wages for miners, in order to develop their communities and protect the environment. It was also instrumental in ensuring a transparent supply chain for the gold.

The standards set have become the foundation of the Fairtrade and Fairmined certification for gold mines that was launched on Valentine’s Day 2011.

There is more Fairtrade and Fairmined gold being sold year on year, with CRED seeing sales of Fairtrade and Fairmined wedding and engagement rings up by 86 per cent from 2011 to 2012.

CRED has now contributed more than £62,000 in Fairtrade premiums to the mining communities in Peru, Bolivia and Colombia.

Images: Alan Frampton of CRED Jewellery with the first batch of Fairtrade, Fairmined silver and the miners of the Sotrami region.