Ethical Jewelry Market In The UK Grows Stronger

Introduction:

In an UK publication, Springfair.com, author Rachael Taylor outlines how precious jewelry sales have remained strong, even in this economy. Of particular interest to the readers of this blog are these passages:

“However, one issue that might well hinder the expansion of the precious jewellery market is ethical mining. After gaining much publicity following the release of the Hollywood blockbuster film Blood Diamond, which portrayed the damaging effects of unethical mining, sourcing is entering consumers’ consciousness.”

Taylor then quotes the fashion analyst, Katrin Magnussen:

“The UK jewellery trade itself should continue its efforts to address the ethical issues of producing precious jewellery. It also needs to act now to reassure consumers that their gold and gemstones come from ethical sources, as this will invariably become an increasingly important concern for those buying statement jewellery.”

I am not surprised to read this. I visited the UK in July and in one old church I visited, I saw loads of information about green and fair trade issues. An elderly woman began talking to me about her personal quandaries of how to shop her values. Even the mainstream supermarkets have labeling on products that source their origin to particular locales.

The UK market as a whole is much more aware of these issues than the US.

However, in the US, the success of companies such as Whole Foods and Patagonia demonstrates huge market potential. This demographic is much more spread out across large geographic areas. This suggests that the biggest opportunity in the US market for ethical sales is the internet, where the competition in the selling of ethically sourced jewelry has barely begun.

~ Marc Choyt, Managing Editor

Here’s the link to the original article–
http://www.springfair.com/page.cfm/action=Archive/ArchiveID=1/EntryID=947

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