![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.mzuridesign.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/News-Image-JonDibben.jpg\" "\\"News-Image-JonDibben\\"")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
One of our clients, Jon Dibben, is proud to be one of only twenty designers and jewellers in the UK selected to offer Fairtrade and Fairmined gold and platinum.\u00a0Valentine\u2019s Day was the official nationwide launch of the new Fairtrade initiative, which will gradually be developed and expanded.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an initiative that Jon was really pleased to sign up to. \u201cWhen you hear about how hard the miners\u2019 lives are, it\u2019s very exciting that we can be involved in such a positive way to make those lives better.\u201d<\/p>\n
The majority of the world\u2019s gold is mined on a large scale, but employs only 10% of miners, and can have an equally large scale environmental impact. The other 90% of labour represents artisanal and small-scale miners, who struggle to produce 10% of global gold, often living and working in difficult and underpaid conditions. The Fairtrade initiative has made a commitment to improve conditions for this huge majority, with the added aim of environmental controls.<\/p>\n
Fairtrade gold will guarantee a payment, to all certified miners, of 95% of the London Bullion Market Association\u2019s gold fix. The fix is the internationally agreed price of gold, and this new percentage is a notable increase on what most miners have been used to. Perhaps even more importantly, the miners involved will also receive a premium to invest in democratically agreed community projects. The programme aims to reduce environmental impact to a minimum, and is offering the additional incentive of an \u2018Ecological Premium\u2019, paid to miners who ensure their methods do not use toxic chemicals, and who actively restore the landscape. Another commitment is to work towards the elimination of child labour.<\/p>\n
Because the initiative is newly launched, and the checks by the independent certification body are stringent at every level, the Fairtrade metals are expected to arrive in the UK at the end of February.<\/p>\n
The photo shows Jon Dibben\u00a0with the President of the Peruvian National Small-Scale Mining Association, Manuel Reinoso Rivas, at the Fairtrade gold press launch<\/p>\n