~ By Meghan Connolly Haupt The jewelry sector is a $76 billion industry in the United States alone. Historically luxury goods have fared better in tough economic times than the economy as a whole. However, in the current economy, the old rules no longer apply. Like the luxury goods market as a whole, the jewelry

Editorial by Marc Choyt, Publisher, fairjewelry.org Reading the US Department of Labor’s report of widespread child labor in the jewelry sector trade publications such as National Jeweler and Idex, is extremely disconcerting. We learn about the widespread use of child labor in gemstone, diamond and gold mining. India, Philippines, Peru, Tanzania, Ecuador, Mali, Bolivia, Burkina

Recently, reviewing a document on standards and principles for fair trade gold, I have been struck by an underlying bias toward democratic processes. The assumption is that democratic decision making is superior to all others. Ironically, the democratic approach has often been used to undermine indigenous communities—the very groups which fair trade is supposed to