Fair Trade Jewelry Our New Fashion Sense

Shopping for fair trade jewelry is shopping for bling with a new awareness. An awareness of how our jewelry purchases can affect both people and the planet.

The concept of fair trade or ethical jewelry is coming to mean more than what we might think of as jewelry that is made according to fair trade standards. The reality that jewelry creation involves much more than the fair treatment of people, the primary concern of much of the fair trade jewelry, is only part of the picture with those of us who have concerns over how and where our jewelry is made.

When looking at fair trade jewelry on sites that sell fair trade items like Wedge Worldwide you will find a beautiful selection of jewelry that is created by artisans paid a fair wage and treated fairly. Wedge works to provide ethical and environmentally friendly jewelry. The artists are encouraged to follow earth friendly processes to bring their artistry alive while often times following age old traditions. These are very important considerations that can make a difference in the lives of many people but there is more to consider.

The term fair trade jewelery for lack of a better term is being used by some to also mean that the gems and the metals being used in jewelry have been mined ethically and with concern for the environment.

A New Way To Think About Jewelry

It is looking at the creation of jewelry from the ground where that first bit of metal or gemstone is dug up to that beautiful ring or necklace in the jewelry store and making sure that every step of the way it has been tracked and documented. This process looks at how and where metals and gems are mined right through to the materials used during production and the labor involved from the thousands of men, women and children around the world employed to create our jewelry.

It is truly a creation of fair trade, socially responsible and environmentally sound practices. While the jewelry industry has begun to address the issues of dirty gold and conflict diamonds there are those who know that this is only part of the picture. What about other metals like silver and platinum or other gems like rubies or sapphires.?

Talk about new ways of doing things. This is a huge task for those who sell fair trade jewelry and certainly for us who buy, it is a new way of looking at jewelry.

The emotional and romantic link we have for jewelry has been the greatest motivator behind our purchases and for many of us the knowledge of it's history distracts from it's beauty. But it's this history that has spurred some jewelers to make changes not only because they know it is the right thing to do but also because sophisticated shoppers like us are wanting changes.

What To Look For.

This new market for jewelry is in it's infancy and as yet has no real name. You will find companies that refer to this as fair trade jewelry, fair jewelry, ethical jewelry or even fair made, eco friendly, socially responsible jewelry. Time will help bring a simpler classification, I hope. Although I am still waiting for a good term that seems to classify living a life with values that respect all life including that of our earth. Lohasian is the closet term and I'm not sure that is catching on.

While thinking of jewelry in this way is new to many of us there are some jewelers who have been working for a long time to create fair trade jewelry following just these very ideas but they are small companies just trying to do the right thing along with creating beautiful jewelry.

Many of them are in the UK where thoughts of ethical treatment and green living ideas are ahead of us here in the U.S. It can more difficult to buy from companies not in the U.S. but to learn more about the fair trade jewelry being made and the tremendous amount of effort that goes in to this commitment to responsible jewelry creation it is worth visiting UK sites. Cred Jewellery is a great example.

Here in the U.S. a handful of jewelry companies are working toward this same goal. Bringing this new way of thought to both the industry and to consumers presents challenges. Since their are no standards companies set their own ethical and environmental guidelines along with systems to track and document gems, metals and the processes involved. Some companies create their own system with the hope that others will adopt their standards.

Look For Transparency.

With any company that you should decide to shop from perhaps the best thing you can do is to look for plenty of what is fast becoming a favorite term for those us trying to shop with our values. Transparency.

But what does that mean? It means that a company provides information that is easily and clearly found about how they do business. Standards they set for themselves and their suppliers. How they address environmental and ethical concerns etc. Basically, how willing they are to open up their business to scrutiny and to answer with confidence and certainty any questions we might ask. This is a real change in doing things. Many businesses do not like to share everything with their customers or others but this is fast becoming the best model for business.