A Discussion on Eco/Fair Manufacturing with Meredith Restein, Founder & Principal Designer of Moonrise Jewelry
I emailed Meredith about who designates her precious metals as ‘fair trade’ and ‘eco friendly’. I also wanted to know what she meant by ‘fair trade gems’ that were sourced in the US, since the fair trade designation only applies to the developing world. Her response cuts to the heart of many complex issues that this movement is challenged with. See my response to her comments as well.
“My business partner, Liz Watson, and I started our company, Moonrise Jewelry, four years ago with the intent of aligning our love for jewelry design with our personal values. Beyond producing high-quality, handcrafted jewelry, we wanted to be able to give back to the communities where we do business, both locally and globally.
All of our jewelry is designed and made by hand at our studio in Eastville, on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Our home in rural Northampton County is internationally known for its pristine maritime wilderness as a Biosphere Reserve, yet it has remained one of the poorest in the state. By choosing to keep our production and operations in Eastville, we are creating fair wage jobs and contributing to the local economy in a sustainable way. From the materials we use, to the office equipment we buy, to the packaging we choose for our products, we seek to minimize the impact our business makes on the natural environment. In our small community, this is an entirely new way of doing business and we are among a handful of small businesses in the area who are demonstrating to others that people, planet, and profits aren’t mutually exclusive.
All of our jewelry is made in the USA, but we source gemstone beads, findings, and other components from all over the world. As your blog clearly points out, there isn’t yet a certifying body or unified set of standards that designates jewelry or jewelry components as “Fair Trade Certified”. Until there is, we must rely on a general definition of what “fair trade” is in other contexts, close relationships with our vendors, and a little bit of trust.
For the past three years we have been collaborating with Eric Braunwort of Columbia Gem House to produce semi-precious gemstone beads, that are mined using low-impact methods and processed under fair trade standards, according to his extensive Quality Assurance and Fair Trade Gems Protocols. Columbia Gem House is well known for precious colored gemstones, but our focus is strictly on semi-precious gemstones for our less-expensive bridge jewelry.
Eric has pioneered the concept of fair trade gems and spent years developing close partnerships with his miners, establishing a world-class cutting facility, and making sure that these special gemstones are produced under fair trade standards every step of the way. The fair trade semi-precious gemstones that we obtain through Columbia Gem House come from small mining operations in Latin America and the US, and can be tracked under a transparent chain of custody from the mine to the cutting facility, directly to our studio. They have all been extracted from the earth using the most environmentally-sensitive practices, and cut in their model Chinese factory which protects workers’ rights, safety, and health while paying a fair wage.
Whether originating in Brazil or the United States, all of Columbia Gem House’s Fair Trade gems are regulated under the same set of internally-monitored standards at the mine site and at the Chinese cutting facility, so in this case the fair trade designation applies to both internationally and domestically-mined gems.
The fair trade metal components (Sterling Silver .925, Fine Silver .999, and 24K Gold-plate) that we use in our designs are handmade by Thai, Mexican, and Balinese artists in three different workshops that are members of the Fair Trade Federation. The Fair Trade Federation is an association of fair trade wholesalers, retailers and producers who are committed to providing fair wages and employment opportunities to low-income artisans and farmers worldwide. Several of these workshops utilize recycled silver in their work, and we have requested that they use as much recycled material as possible in our custom pieces. We also source recycled, reclaimed, and renewable materials like wood, bamboo, and recycled glass from vendors who demonstrate a commitment to environmental protection and fair trade principles.
Like other jewelry designers who are concerned with the ethical and environmental implications of their supply chain, we have to do the best we can with what is currently available, while continuing to develop new sources and pushing existing ones to greater responsibility. The primary way we can effect the changes we want to see is with our buying power, which is of course tied to sales and consumer demand. So, like other like-minded jewelry designers, we unfortunately have to continue to sell some products that are of uncertain origin to stay in business and be able to continue our work toward a more ethical and sustainable jewelry industry. To reduce confusion among the many different products we sell, we have created a Green Key, Eco-Labeling system so our customers know exactly what kind of materials go into making each piece of jewelry. Those with the highest ratings of Fair Trade Gems, Fair Trade metals, and renewable natural materials are exclusively sold and marketed as our Premier Eco-Jewelry Collection.
As concerned members of the jewelry industry move toward greater consensus of the “fair trade”, “ethical”, and “green” designations, we want to make sure that smaller designers of handcrafted fashion/art jewelry are not left out of the dialogue. Much of the discussion to date has centered around the fine jewelry, diamond, and precious gemstone markets, yet the ethical problems that exist within the considerable semi-precious markets are just as pervasive. Consumers who care about the social and environmental impacts of their purchases, are just as likely to purchase affordable, semi-precious jewelry as they are to invest in fine jewelry, we believe. As mainstream interest in all things “green” continues to grow, more of them will be looking for answers from companies across the entire jewelry industry.
My Response Meredith’s Comments:
I too, have been thinking about the issue of small scale designers, as that is what my company is. The emphasis has been on the high end. We hear a lot of diamonds and precious gems. That’s because Martin Rapaport has been such a powerful spokesperson and the industry listens to him. Eric Braunwart has also garnered a lot of well deserved attention for his ground breaking efforts. The mining issues with FLO are focused around gold.
Little about manufacturing has been even discussed– which I find slightly ironic, since people are purchasing jewelry to wear and not just gemstones. Even what has been discussed about manufacturing, most of it has focused on the high end, people like Toby Pomeroy, Greg Velario, Leber Jewelers, Green Karat and really large players like Tiffany. There’s been little around manufacturing with ethical principals in the lower price point and the middle range, which is where I fall– $200 to $500. I think this is something that we can talk more about, or I should say, commiserate about in DC. Maybe we can think of ways to change this. Let’s organize– form a solidarity movement in the spirit of Lech Walesa, Vaclav Havel and Tom Paine.
I know you mentioned the Fair Trade Federation. You probably read my interview of their director on my blog. I am skeptical about the manufacturing of product in small villages which is really what “fair trade” jewelry means to google and FTF. I had an email conversation back and forth with Global Exchange. They did not have knowledge in a specific way of what was taking place. I have been in these small villages in Asia where jewelry is manufactured. I don’t trust that they are adhering to strict environmental controls nor can they afford the equipment a jeweler really needs to be safe. But these issues are not even scratched for jewelry that is accepted by the Fair Trade Federation which has no idea about the details of jewelry manufacturing.
Another issue is child labor. You can be sure that kids are working in those villages. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. How else is the craft going to be passed down in a place like Bali. Even in the US, the issue is not so clear– I taught Native American kids for several years and many of the high school students were making production level silver– definitely not standard “child labor.” The issues often require a deep level of cultural sensitivity— not something most Americans are known for.
I am about to launch a redesign of our website, celticjewelry.com, hopefully by the 15th. It has its own rating system– it’s been a 5 month project. With Hoover and Strong, I now have access to clean metals. It is difficult to move a company with an already established product line toward ethical practices /particularly /around the issue of gemstones. The low hanging eco and socially responsible fruit has been picked before falling to the ground and being eaten by warms. In Tucson I’m going to talk to my stone dealers out of Jaipur, India, where much of my supply comes. I do not yet know what is going on with these companies. I believe that there’s a huge business opportunity if one of those guys decided to take this up. I’d pay double what I’m paying for my semi-precious stones right now if I could get them fair trade based.
What we really need are ten more suppliers like Eric. Do you think that cloning humans can be safely done? If so, we might be able to steal a hair or two when we see him in Washington. Anyway, everyone agrees that what he’s done is fantastic, but it is impossible to fit his gems in my existing production line.
The only other comment I have is that it would be really great if you could be even more transparent on your site and give links to Columbia Gem house as your sourcing, and discuss in more detail the factory condition that you know about. With so much spin going on, the only thing at this point that’s real is extreme transparency. That’s what I’m aiming for on my site. Also, I still don’t understand what you mean by “fair trade silver” since there are no fair trade silver mines as far as I know.
