Initially, I was as surprised as I would expect you to be when reading this.  I have always associated Fairtrade products with bananas, coffee and chocolate.

However, when I met my friend Suzanne for drinks last week and she informed me that she and her soon-to-be husband had purchased wedding bands from a Fairtrade provider, I was puzzled.  She explained that she is a strong believer in a fair market, but also in the integrity of the suppliers of everything she consumes, from her milk to her cleaning products.  I have always known that she is very caring of the environment and of the world around her but I never suspected that that it would extended to her choice of wedding rings.

I instantly became curious about the whole concept and asked her how she found out about the rings.  As it happens, she buys a lot of the Fairtrade products online and, while browsing the site, she landed on the gold and jewellery page.

We finished our drinks and, as soon as I got home, I walked straight to my laptop to check the site.

I also care deeply about the environment and every time I buy something I do my best to choose a product which is produced in a manner that respects and protects our environment, as well as the people involved in producing it.  When I started browsing through the Fairtrade website I was pleasantly surprised to see that they have a vast array of products that range from coffee to flowers to jewellery.

I was intrigued mostly, however, by its gold story and found out that, according to its website, Fairtrade certified gold “is the world’s first independent ethical certification system for gold”  (http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/en/buying-fairtrade/gold).

Indeed, the Fairtrade organisation guarantees that by buying such certified gold we can have an important and positive impact on the lives of the miners, their families and communities.  Also, the organisation states that if you buy Fairtrade gold “you know the small scale and artisanal miners were paid a fair price, giving them financial security”.

While encouraged by these words, I wanted to further understand how this could be as I come from a gold-rich place and I am all too aware of the nefarious conditions under which independent miners work around the world, as well as the way they can damage and poison our natural resources.

So how do Fairtrade help achieve financial security of the miners and protection of the environment? According to Fairtrade Gold, “miners receive a guaranteed Fairtrade Minimum Price and Premium ($2,000/kg) to invest in improving their business or in community projects such as education, clean water and healthcare”.

By becoming Fairtrade certified and meeting Fairtrade Standards for gold, miners elevate their operation to a level which helps their mining as well as their business practices.

For Fairtrade Gold the latter includes strict Standards which cover the working conditions of everybody included in the mining process, health and safety, handling chemicals, women’s rights, child labour and protection of the environment.

I have no doubt that my friend Suzanne read about all of this before making her choice. I’m also certain that she threw some Fairtrade flowers in her shopping basket for the sake of having as “fair” a wedding as possible!

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