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RAPAPORT… Jeweler and fair trade activist Greg Valerio speaks to Rapaport News about the upcoming Fairtrade and Fairmined gold launch for Valentine’s Day 2011 in London. Giving gold jewelry is about love, romance and beauty. But all too often, how gold is mined is not a pretty story. That’s why the world’s first Fairtrade and Fairmined gold from South America will be launched by the Fairtrade Foundation and the Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM) on Wednesday, February 9 at the Gold Suite, The Hatton, 51-53 Hatton Garden, London. This groundbreaking move will open up new opportunities for thousands of impoverished small-scale and artisanal miners in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru to sell under Fairtrade and Fairmined terms and through the Fairtrade premium, invest in business improvement and community projects. Fairtrade and Fairmined gold has the potential to radically reform the gold jewelry sector, improving the lives of millions of miners and their communities in some of the world’s poorest regions. Though artisanal and small-scale miners produce 10 percent of global gold supplies, they account for 90 percent of labor in gold extraction, experiencing high levels of poverty. The launch of Fairtrade and Fairmined certified gold provides a lifeline for communities who find themselves at the mercy of volatile markets, when agriculture and other livelihoods are not viable. Many miners often face exploitation from middle men who pay below market prices and cheat …
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