The Natural Step is an international NGO that works to accelerate global sustainability by guiding companies, communities and governments onto an ecologically, socially and economically sustainable path. TNS has worked with global corporations such as Ikea, Nike, The Home Depot and McDonald’s. At the heart of The Natural Step’s programs is a framework, grounded in science, that outlines system conditions for a sustainable world.

Apply the TNS Framework to the jewelry industry, even at a general level, and some implications for jewelry industry sustainability are immediately apparent.

The four TNS System Conditions and their meaning are below, followed by my take on some applications to jewelry and implication(s) for a sustainable jewelery industry. I want to stress that this is by no means a complete analysis; it merely begins to highlight some major issues.

1. Stored Deposits: Substances from the earth’s crust must not systematically increase in the ecosphere. Meaning: If we mine metals, fossil fuels and other minerals from the crust of the earth, we need to be careful not to let them accumulate in the biosphere.

Applications: Fossil fuels are used to power mining and refining operations and transport jewelry’s raw materials as they criss-cross the globe between mines, cutting factories, manufacturers, retailers and others. Mercury is a stored deposit that can be used in gold extraction; mercury can work its way into the biosphere with lasting, damaging effects.

Implications: Jewelry industry participants who are committed to sustainability can (a) reduce fossil fuel consumption; (b) replace fossil fuels with renewable and sustainable alternatives; (c) encourage and support ecologically sensitive mining and refining techniques and (d) increase use of recycled and reclaimed metals.

2. Synthetic compounds and other societally-produced materials: Substances produced by society must not systematically increase in the ecosphere. Meaning: We must be vigilant stewards of the synthetic materials that we create since nature has no mechanism for absorbing or processing them. The danger is in letting them loose in the biosphere where they enter into ecosystems, food chains and ultimately our bodies.

Application to Jewelry: Cyanide leach mining for gold is one example of a jewelry industry practice that fits into this category. While cyanide may break down easily in sunlight, its toxic byproducts can persist for years. Accidental cyanide spills and contamination also pose serious risks to human and ecosystem health.

Implication: Any jewelry industry participants using synthetic materials should seek natural, sustainable alternatives or practice “closed loop” mining and manufacturing processes that assure these materials stay within industrial cycles and are not allowed to migrate into natural systems.

3. Ecosystem Manipulation: The physical basis for productivity and diversity of nature must not be systematically diminished. Meaning: We cannot harvest or manipulate ecosystems in such a way that productive capacity, ecosystem services and diversity systematically dimish.

Application: A well-publicized factoid is that it takes 30 tons of earth to create one ounce of gold. Mining of metals, gems and diamonds displace massive amounts of land and can have permanent, damaging effects on local ecosystems and native species. But alternatives exist, and more technologies and models are in development.

Implication: Jewelry industry participants who are committed to sustainability must encourage and support these new alternatives, and also support the suppliers who restore and regenerate disturbed mining areas. Also, the harvesting and use of imperiled natural elements such as coral or ivory must not occur.

4. Socio-Economics: In a sustainable society, people are not subject to conditions that systematically undermine their capacity to meet their own needs. Meaning: Human needs must be met worldwide. Unless basic human needs are met through fair and efficient use of resources, policies of social justice and fair labor practices, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to meet conditions 1-3 on a global scale.

Applications: The jewelry industry’s most well-publicized breach of this condition are conflict diamonds, or “Blood Diamonds” - diamonds used by rebel movements to finance devastating conflicts in countries such as Angola, Cote d’Ivoire, the DRC and Sierra Leone. While the Kimberley Process has helped stem the flow of conflict diamonds, extreme poverty in diamond-producing regions still exists.

But this dynamic is not limited to diamonds. Many mineral resource-rich regions of the world are also rife with armed conflict and abject poverty - tragic conditions to which the jewelry industry is connected, directly or indirectly.

Implications: Jewelry industry participants who are committed to sustainability must work to transform supply chains so that the economics from mine to cutting factory to retail floor work for everyone, with nobody and nothing left out. Bringing global development initiatives such a Fair Trade Certification into the gem, diamond and precious metals supply chains could be a positive step in that direction.

Tagua beads and loops are eco-friendly, fair trade elements found throughout Lucina’s jewelry collection. We thought it might be helpful to share the story of tagua to illustrate why, and how, using tagua in our jewelry has a positive environmental and social impact in the communities from which it originates in Ecuador.

Tagua (pronounced tah-gwa) trees flourish in the lush tropical rainforests of South America. Tagua trees bear large woody fruits, each containing several nuts about the size of hens’ eggs. Here’s a tagua tree:

Local farmers harvest the ripe nuts and dry them for several weeks after which the nuts become extremely hard. Often called vegetable ivory, tagua has the appearance and carving properties similar to animal ivory. Here’s what the raw tagua nuts look like before they are shaped by our artisan partners:

The tagua nuts that are eventually shaped into Lucina jewelry components come from the Cooperativa de Artesanos del Tagua – Cooperative of Tagua Artisans. This co-op includes small workshops located along Ecuador’s coast, where artisans carve and dye the nuts into pendants and beads.

Typically, artisans run workshops out of their homes and employ several family members and friends. As demand for beads increases, these workshops are able to stabilize and flourish, creating much-needed jobs and training new workers in these small communities. Here’s a photo of Margarita getting ready to polish some tagua:

These workshops have created a reliable source of income for families in areas where employment opportunities are scarce. For some communities, tagua is their lifeblood. By providing an alternative to cutting down rain forests, the gentle, sustainable harvest of the tagua nut also promotes habitat conservation in these biologically rich tropical areas.

The artisans receive fair compensation for their tagua products through a long-standing relationship with Lucina’s fair trade importer partner, who sells the finished tagua to Lucina. “Fair trade” importers subscribe to a set of principles and practices that ensure the artisans receive a fair price.

Lucina’s designers combine these tagua beads and pendants with materials such as fair trade gemstones and shimmering fair trade silver. The red loop pendant in the Lucina necklace pictured here is made from hand-carved tagua, naturally dyed: The end result is beautiful jewelry whose components are sourced almost entirely through fair trade importers, from artisan communities around the world.

While tagua has an undeniably eco-friendly history, the resulting jewelry combines eco-friendly tagua with elements like silver, whose history is not so green. Nevertheless, the inclusion of tagua in Lucina Jewelry opens up new markets for this natural, sustainable element, whose gentle harvest provides an economic incentive to keep imperiled rainforests intact.

Previous posts have delved into the sources of Lucina’s metals, and issues specific to metal and gem mining. While Lucina uses small amounts of recycled gold, we don’t yet have recycled silver in our line. But one thing we’ve got dialed in? Recycled Colombian pesos. And those pesos finally got the recognition they deserved on this morning’s Today Show.

When a currency is devalued over time, the smallest units of value, like pennies or pesos, can be rendered almost worthless - sometimes worth less than the metal they’re made of. In the context of a difficult economy, our enterprising artisan partner in Colombia figured out a way to make lemonade out of lemons. Or rather, bracelets out of pesos. In the process, they created a flexible coil shape that’s perfect for stringing stunning red choclo seeds.

The result is our bestselling Berry Coil Bracelet. We take the basic red coil, add fair trade Bali silver beads and a big, faceted clear quartz nugget. And that bracelet shined this morning on The Today Show when fashion expert Rachel Zalis took care to point out the brilliant red beads and, even more extraordinarily, the beauty that lies within: that ingenious interior coil handcrafted in the Andes from recycled Colombia pesos.

This blog’s (non-sequential) application of the “Six Sins of Greenwashing,” takes us now to Greenwashing Sin #4: Vagueness and #5 – Irrelevance. I’ve seen some examples recently of greenwashing through vague and irrelevant claims in jewelry.

So let’s get something straight: “natural” does not equal “eco” when you’re talking about elements that have been mined from the earth.

For example, I’ve seen companies that tout “green” qualities like “all natural gold,” “organic gemstones,” or “100% pure sapphires and platinum.” These are all examples of co-opting terms from natural/organic agricultural products and applying them misleadingly to jewelry without enviro or social credentials. The elements themselves may be naturally occuring (gold) but the processes of extracting and processing them are environmentally damaging (large-scale, open-pit mining, cyanide leaching). For an overview of issues related to gold mining, visit www.nodirtygold.com, and check out the New York Times articles from 2005 which focus on the Yanacocha Gold Mine in Peru, whose cyanide leaching process is pictured below.

Mining can have deleterious effects on ecosystems and their dependent human and animal communities. Mining, however, takes many different forms, and it’s possible to mine metals, diamonds and gems in ways that decrease environmental and human impact. An array of activist and industry groups recognize the need for change, are pushing for it, and creating it. ARM, CRJP, Earthworks, Ethical Metalsmiths, IRMA, Madison Dialogues, and No Dirty Gold are but a few.

That said, the sources of “eco friendly” or “green” gems and metals are still few and far between. So, what’s a socially conscious jewelry company - or customer - to do?

First, participate in and support the NGO and industry efforts cited above. Second, use recycled silver and gold as an alternative to virgin metals; these are especially good options for metalsmiths. For example, our Oregon neighbor Toby Pomeroy has created gorgeous jewelry using recycled gold, to much-deserved acclaim.

At Lucina, we are are not metalsmiths. So until we get the capital to fund our own metalsmithing workshop, we will work with our Fair Trade Federation member supplier of silver and gold-fill beads and chains to identify eco-friendly alternatives. And, we’ll try to make it crystal clear (not vague) what elements in each piece of jewelry are eco friendly, and what elements cannot yet claim that honor.

Ethical marketing of green products can be tricky, because products often combine a variety of elements, some eco-friendly, some not. As mentioned previously, Lucina wants to promote the eco-friendly aspects of our jewelry, without greenwashing. This led us to find some guidelines for greenwashing vs. ethical marketing.

So let’s look at Greenwashing Sin #1: A hidden tradeoff.

Jewelry that contains more than one element probably contains a trade-off; that is, it’s hard to create a environmentally and socially “pure” composite product (believe me, we’re trying). So, whether that trade of is “hidden” or not determines whether the marketing is ethical.
The Audrey Necklace, a lovely mixed metal number, provides a useful example for this. The Audrey combines hand-forged sterling silver beads sourced from our fair trade parter in Bali, with those same sterling beads plated with 90-100% reclaimed gold. The gorgeous fair trade beads make a difference for silversmiths in Bali (good), but we don’t know where they are getting their silver (it’s virgin, we don’t know the mines, so the story is iffy, or bad). BUT the gold plating is 90-100% recycled (good). And it’s a gorgeous necklace (good. Thank you, Ronda Kelly).

In our description of the necklace, we try to make these attributes clear. We don’t know the story of the silver mine, so we don’t claim that the silver is “eco friendly.” We do, however, know that the Bali workshop makes a beautiful difference in its community, and that reclaimed gold is a good alternative to virgin gold, so we highlight those details.

The product research takes determination because the full history isn’t always available. But at Lucina, clarity is what we are interested in. It’s one of the reasons we started this blog. So please let us know how we’re doing, and if you have suggestions.

The more customers ask questions, the more the jewelry industry will begin to provide more answers - the good, the bad, and everything in between. So please do ask.

More interesting progress in the movement towards Fair Trade Certification for jewelry: diamonds. TransFairUSA is now conducting a Feasibility Study for Fair Trade Certified Diamonds. Project timeline is January - September 2008. The Feasibility Study includes two elements: an assessment of market interest, and an assessment of mining sites and supply chain feasibility.

The market assessment will take place spring 2008. I’m very familiar with this project, as I’m the one TransFair contracted to conduct the market analysis. The research involves surveys and interviews with a cross-section of US market participants and also some global players. This is an initial study, aimed at gathering the industry’s thoughts and interest around the possibility of Fair Trade Certified Diamonds.

The mining sites feasibility study will take place over a six month period and will study mining sites of various types and sizes, in numerous locations around the world. Analyzing the diamond supply chain is a very complex process. TransFair is thoroughly evaluating whether the social and environmental standards, and the level of supply chain transparency required by Fair Trade, will work in the diamond industry. The final report is expected in Fall 2008.

There has been some interesting progress in the movement toward Fair Trade Certification for jewelry. Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO) and the Association for Responsible Mining (ARM) have conducted a feasibility study on Fair Trade Certified gold. For more info on FLO, see related post. ARM is a multi-stakeholder initiative working to develop FT standards for gold and associated precious metals for small-scale and artisanal miners.

Together ARM and FLO created what’s known as Standard Zero for Fair Trade Artisanal Gold and Associated Silver and Platinum. The standards are rigorous, reflect Fair Trade principles and protocols for other products, and are available for download at their website (scroll down the page). Pilot project implementation is happening now at the Oro Verde/Green Gold project in Colombia and further pilot projects are planned in Bolivia, Peru and possibly Ecuador.

It’s important to note that these standards apply only to small-scale, artisanal miners. ARM’s vision (to paraphrase slightly) is that Artisanal Small Scale Mining (ASM) “be a formalized, organized and profitable activity that is socially and environmentally responsible; develops within a framework of good governance, legality, participation and respect for diversity; and generates decent work, local development, poverty reduction and social peace in our nations.”

In this way, the Standard Zero/Green Gold project fits with Fair Trade’s historic focus on small-scale producers. This effort could significantly empower and benefit these miners, their families and communities, who have historically been marginalized and impoverished. Fair Trade Certification programs for other products (coffee, tea, cocoa, etc.) have achieved remarkable success where economic and social development is put in the hands of small-scale producers.

Moving forward, an exclusive focus on small-scale production may restrict supply of the ethically sourced gold, which may inhibit market growth. I don’t know if this will necessarily be the case with gold. But given the burgeoning interest and demand for socially conscious gold, generating adequate supply of verifiably eco-friendly, Fair Trade gold and precious metals could represent a big opportunity, and possibly a challenge, for the Fair Trade movement and its participants. Whether they maintain the focus on small-scale producers is a strategic question that remains to be answered.

The answer (again) is yes and no. NO, Fair Trade Certification does not yet exist for gemstones. But until Fair Trade Certification is implemented, YES there is an importer paving the way for future certification.

Columbia Gem House (CGH) is the only US colored gemstone importer to have created and implemented fair trade sourcing standards. These pioneering standards cover labor conditions and workers’ rights, environmental protection, product integrity and supply chain transparency.

This work is critical and “pioneering” because CGH has been the first to (a) create and test standards, and (b) concurrently develop market awareness and demand for the products.

Without proven demand, it’s difficult for the Fair Trade Certifying agencies to justify the great expense of launching a new certification program.

CGH invites review and input of the Columbia Gem House Quality Assurance and Fair Trade Gems Protocols, which anyone can download in full. This contributes to the development of effective standards.

Lucina sources most of our gemstones from Columbia Gem House, including ametrine, aquamarine, citrine, jasper and clear, rose and smoky quartz. We refer to these as “Fair Trade Gemstones“. The Fair Trade Powers That Be may not love that we use the “Fair Trade” terminology without certification, but it’s the best way we have to describe Columbia Gem House’s good work.

It’s likely that growing consumer awareness of the social and environmental issues often associated with conventional mining will create growing demand for solutions such as Fair Trade Certified gemstones and diamonds. So perhaps Fair Trade Certified gems aren’t too far away.

The “green” trend is huge, but there’s no clear definition of “green,” as in ecologically friendly, or sustainable. The definition of “sustainable” is a subject of endless debate. Regardless, the trend means two things: a blossoming availability of products touting their green credentials, and rampant “greenwashing” across industries, including jewelry.

At Lucina, we want to highlight the eco-friendly aspects of some of our products (like tagua), without greenwashing. So we looked for some guidelines, and found these helpful - from TerraChoice Environmental Marketing:
Green-wash (green’wash’, -wôsh’) – verb: the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service.

Grist.org condensed TerraChoice’s “six sins” as follows:

1 – A hidden tradeoff (e.g., toxin-loaded electronics touting their energy efficiency);

2 – No certifiable verification of green claims;

3 – Flat-out lying about certification;

4 – Vagueness (e.g., products claiming “all natural” status, which could include hazardous substances that occur naturally);

5 – Irrelevance (e.g., products claiming to be CFC-free even though CFCs have long been banned);

6 – A lesser of two evils situation (e.g. organic cigarettes).

A future post will apply these to Lucina Jewelry and to the jewelry industry in general.

In the United States, TransFairUSA, a non-profit organization, is the only independent, third-party certifier of Fair Trade products. TransFair is one of 20 members of Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO): a “non-profit, multi-stakeholder association involving 23 member organizations traders and external experts” which develops and reviews Fairtrade Standards and provides support to Fairtrade Certified Producers by assisting them in gaining Fairtrade Certification and capitalizing on market opportunities.”

Fair Trade Certification is only available for commodities such as coffee, tea, herbs, cocoa, fresh fruit, and sugar. TransFair’s rigorous audit system, which tracks products from farm to finished product, verifies compliance with Fair Trade criteria. US companies are permitted to display the Fair Trade Certified label only on products that meet strict Fair Trade standards.

FLO and TransFair are looking into jewelry certification… more on that soon.