The difference between Fairmined and Fairtrade.
Maybe you are already familiar with the Fairtrade quality mark and are wondering what the difference is with Fairmined. In a sense there is not much difference, but the Fairtrade organization in the Netherlands has decided to no longer promote Fairtrade gold. You can read more about this in this article . That is why I choose gold and silver with the international Fairmined quality mark.
Why not recycled gold?
The recycling of raw materials has received a lot of attention in recent years. That is a good development. Reusing material before throwing it away contributes to less production of new products and that is good for the environment. Gold has been recycled for centuries because of its value and good reusability.
Why do I mainly work with new gold?
Recycling gold works in a different way than recycling other raw materials and is not always as sustainable as it seems.
Gold is not just a raw material for beautiful jewelry. It is a means of payment that also has influence at a political level throughout the world. Due to the value of this resource, mining for new gold will never stop. Illegal, unsafe and polluting gold obtained through robbery, extortion, forced labor and money laundering is seeping into the legal gold trade. Also in the recycled gold category. Also, the total supply of recycled gold is not enough to meet the general demand for gold. Transparency by suppliers about the share of new gold in their production process is often lacking.
Is recycled gold actually recycled?
We use recycling of raw materials when the product containing the raw material can no longer be used in its current form. Fibers from a worn sweater, plastic from a used shampoo bottle or a broken cardboard box.
Recycling gold doesn't exactly work via this definition.
In the gold industry, the residual material from the processing of new gold also regularly counts as ''recycled material''. This often includes gold that was mined incorrectly and never came onto the market as a product.
This is like buying a new sweater in a poor country at a very low price. Or steal one from someone else. You then take it apart and make it into another sweater. Then you offer it as a handmade sustainable sweater from recycled materials and ask the customer for a 'fair price'. The original owner of the sweater sees nothing of this.
Although many gold suppliers claim to offer 99% recycled gold, to date they cannot guarantee that the above has not occurred.
Actively contribute to change.
In recent years, more and more companies have started stating that they work with recycled gold. Yet the mining industry continues untiringly. In my opinion, recycling gold is not exactly 'wrong'. But as long as this process is used to greenwash bad gold, you cannot call it sustainable. That is why I choose not to focus on recycling, but to actively contribute to change in the mining industry.
When do I use recycling?
If you want to have your old gold or silver jewelry transformed into new jewelry, you have still come to the right place. I can melt down the material of your jewelry and turn it into new base material. Or, for example, turn that one set of earrings into a beautiful pendant without losing the design.
Does your new design require more material than your old jewelry? Then I supplement it with Fairmined precious metal.
Old stock.
During my studies and for a number of years afterwards, I collected a lot of silver residual material. When I just started with Armoise and was looking for a way to make something with all that silver scrap, the Ambrosios collection was created. Today I still make jewelry in this line with the same stock of silver scraps. One day this will run out and then... I don't know yet.
