Fair Jewelry Action: A Call For Members
Fair Jewellery Action (FJA) is a Human Rights and Environmental Justice Network within the jewellery sector. FJA promotes ethical and fair trade jewellery business by advocating traceability and transparency in the jewellery supply chain. FJA’s objective is to direct more of the economic impact of the jewellery sector toward the regenerating of local economies in small-scale artisan producer communities, supporting cultural integrity and environmental sustainability.
Through its communications platform and standard setting activities, FJA will function as a driving force to consumers, making ethically and fairly traded jewellery the only moral choice. It will support jewelers and manufacturers by connecting them with the source of their material and enabling them to see the social, environmental and market advantage of providing ethical products..
Fair Jewellery Action will be decentralized. Different countries will have their own branch of the organization that work in a coordinated fashion to maximize our collective impact.
Membership
The need for ethical sourcing is becoming an increasingly important issue to jewelers and consumers. Through FJA manufacturers, retailers, civil society organizations including NGOs, studio & designer jewelers can demonstrate their commitment to ethical and fair trade practices by making mine to market traceability and transparency their standard practice.
FJA will enable this through the creation of an online communications platform, www.fairjewelry.org. This website will both facilitate the sharing of models of good practice with other members, it will also act as a way that FJA members voices can be heard on issues that they are passionate about. By working together as a coalition, we will strengthen each other’s efforts, strengthening our ethical sourcing platforms and launching more effective campaigns.
All active members of the jewelry sector and those civil society groups involved in jewelry related issues committed to the over arching objectives of FJA are invited to become members. We are passionately committed to human rights, social justice and the environment. We see the jewelry sector as a vast, untapped reservoir of opportunity to truly create benefit; for ourselves, our communities and local producer communities throughout the world.
Criteria for membership:
NGOs and Civil Society Organizations:
1. Agreement with our mission and vision. Organizations that are in accordance with our core values are encouraged to become members.
Jewelry Trade Organizations:
1. Transparency. Members commit to being a part of a group of jewellers, suppliers and manufacturers who agree to be transparent with other members and the public in regard to the sourcing of their materials and products. At a later date, once we have our new website developed, this information will need to be documented on the website.
2. Traceability: Members agree that wherever possible, their jewellery will be traceable from mine to market.
3. Community. Members work in a cooperative circle, combining research, experience and knowledge in order to build the best possible resources for our mutual benefit and to advance the common good.
Benefits of Membership:
1. Use of the Fair Jewelry Action logo and a free link off our website.
2. Opportunity for involvement in our campaigns for the promotion of ethical sourcing in the jewelry supply chain.
Initially, membership is free. FJA Members will have use of the organization’s logo, linking directly to the fair jewellery action website. Once we build our organization, there will be some reasonable fee associated with membership.
To become a member of FJA please email your contact details to:
Marc Choyt (USA/Canada) reflective@cybermesa.com
Greg Valerio (UK/EU) greg@gregvalerio.com.
If you are outside North America or Europe feel free to contact either Marc or Greg directly.
Please Note:
FJA is a forum open to a diversity of opinions in support of it’s mission. Any editorial expressed in this article represents the opinion of the author, and not necessarily the views of Fair Jewelry Action members.
