New responsible jewellery event to launch in Edinburgh in November
The evening aims to raise awareness of the issues with fairtrade gold and mining within the industry
Jewellery retailers, designers and suppliers are being invited to attend Goldflair, an evening event in celebration of responsible jewellery taking place on 23 November 2018.
The event is being organised by Ian Nicholson, jeweller, silversmith and managing director of Edinburgh’s Precious Metals Workshop, and is being sponsored by Scottish luxury jewellery house Hamilton & Inches.
The evening aims to raise money for fairtrade, fairmined and the Dragonfly Initiative’s artisanal mining programmes to help improve the working conditions of artisanal mining communities.
Nicholson said: “I have seen first-hand the conditions that our gold is sourced in developing countries and there is extreme poverty with no other options but to dig in the dirt for as little as £1 a day’s wage. However, I am optimistic with organisations such as Fairtrade, Fairmined and the Dragonfly Initiative helping from the first step in artisanal mining.”
He added: “There is growing strength in the responsible jewellery movement and the UK is leading the way with our ethical symposiums, events like Goldflair and the fabulous traceable Scottish Gold. It is now that businesses need to come together under a united responsible banner and do what we can to minimise the exploitation issues that exist in our supply chains.
“Goldflair won’t change this overnight, but it will help to continue to address these issues, keep the conversation alive, bring a positive change and give back to those who need it most.”
