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| Sitting down with with Britain's First Fair Trade Gold Importer, Alan Frampton |
The Independent has a great article about the initiative Alan Frampton is passionate about Fair Trade Gold. I had the good fortune to speak with him yesterday in Chichester, and he really owns the story of how his jewellery is sourced, made and eventually sold at his CRED brand stores. They have many first in the business and Monica Garcia, (who won a Sales Award at The International Jewellery London Trade Show earlier this week mentioned them to me-
"We have had many firsts in this business: the first jeweller to use known origin gold; the first to have a fully open and transparent supply chain; the first website dedicated to the sale of ethical jewellery; the first boutique jeweller to do the same. The first jeweller to use Fairtrade silver The first jeweller to disclose the contents of the jewellery and the provenance of the main precious metal"
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| Kenya's makeshift goldmines: Can Fairtrade do for our jewellery what it did for our bananas? |
Their story resonates with my American audiences:For the whole jewellery industry to sell ethical pieces that benefit indigenous producers while mitigating environmental damage. The lack of supply chain information is what makes you wonder- How could I dare wear a piece of jewellery without knowing if it was made in a sweatshop or without regard to the dignity of the worker in safety health and pay.
When I mentioned that our customers don't ask for Fair Trade, Alan responded "Did They ask For an IPad? Steve Jobs just built it". Moral of the story: If you build a fairtrade business model, they will come, er, I Mean-Buy.
