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Madison Dialogue addresses ethical jewelry standards

November 08, 2007

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Washington, D.C.—Representatives from a cross-section of industries, ranging from artisanal and small-scale mines to governments and non-governmental organizations, convened in late October for the Madison Dialogue Ethical Jewelry Summit, a discussion that ended in a declaration stating support for developing and implementing standards for the production of ethical and fair-trade jewelry products.

The Oct. 25-26 meeting was held at the World Bank in Washington, and was hosted by Communities and Small Scale Mining.

Attending the meeting were representatives from a range of developed or developing assurance and certification programs for the jewelry industry, such as the Council for Responsible Jewellery Practices and the Fair Made Jewelry Initiative begun by the Rapaport Group; suppliers such as Target Resources, Columbia Gem House and Fair Trade in Gems and Jewellery; and miners from such nations as Peru, Colombia, South Africa and Sierra Leone, among many others.

After the two-day meeting, attendees crafted a declaration that reads: "We believe there is an opportunity to make a difference in the lives and communities of artisanal/small-scale miners and other marginalized workers worldwide, by developing and implementing robust standards for the production of ethical and fair-trade metals, diamonds, gems and jewelry. We also encourage governments, where needed, to develop policies and regulations that protect these miners, workers and their communities."

In addition, summit attendees agreed to form working groups to address some of the key issues raised during the meeting, including: the development of principles, standards and a third-party assurance system for jewelry products that may be labeled as "ethical" or "fair trade;" large- and small-scale mining interactions; artisanal and small-scale metals mining; artisanal and small-scale colored-gemstone mining; artisanal and small-scale diamond mining; and recycled metals.

For more information on the Madison Dialogue, visit its Web site, Madisondialogue.org.
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Business | Fair Trade | Trade
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