Elvio Mamani and his 80 coworkers were fired after demanding improved working conditions.

The building that housed the factory in Bolivia, where Mamani worked. Barren inside, except some tables and chairs, the factory was shut down after workers unionized in 2006.

Walmart claims its "Love, Earth"  jewelry line is "responsible jewelry from responsible sources." In fact, they company has signed the pledge to follow the No Dirty Gold Campaign's Rules for Responsible Sourcing , but a recent investigation in the Miami New Times shows that "Love, Earth" jewelry comes at a great cost to factory workers in Bolivia and to the environment and communities around mines in the United States.

Walmart's "Love, Earth" Jewelry Comes From: 

· Newmont's mines in Nevada: major mercury polluters, and cited by EPA for hazardous waste violations. The report quotes a letter written from Global Response in 2008 stating  "There is no evidence that the Nevada and Utah mines that provide gold to Love, Earth are any less destructive than other mines around the world."

· Rio Tinto's Bingham Canyon mine in Utah: home of America's largest known toxic groundwater plume and Superfund site candidate.

· Florida-based Aurafin's factories in Bolivia: where workers for the company face long hours for low wages and oppressive working conditions. One subcontracting shop was even shut down when its workers began to unionize.

Read the complete article for stories from workers about abusive conditions, details on the political and economic ties behind the Love Earth supply chain, and Walmart's greenwashing of No Dirty Gold. Then read No Dirty Gold's press release and group letter to Walmart. 

TAKE ACTION!

Sign the pledge to end dirty gold mining practices and receive updates on how to take further action. 

Bristol Bay residents and local Alaska Natives overwhelmingly oppose the proposed Pebble Mine project.    

The World's greatest Sockeye salmon fishery is at risk. Alaska's Bristol Bay watershed supports the world's largest remaining wild salmon fishery. Year after year, the salmon return to Bristol Bay in astounding numbers, like no other place on earth.

The Pebble Mine, a massive gold and copper mine, is proposed for development at the headwaters of Bristol Bay. The mine is projected to be the largest in North America, generating as much as 10 billion tons of toxic mine waste and destroying salmon habitat.

TAKE ACTION: Sign the petition to urge the EPA to protect the world's greatest remaining wild salmon fishery. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has authority under the Clean Water Act to restrict mine waste dumping in the pristine waters and wetlands of the Bristol Bay watershed.

Learn more. 

In July, 2010, Ethical Metalsmiths formed the Responsible Studio Practices Working Group to address questions about sustainable studio practices and proper disposal procedures for studio chemicals. Several concerned individuals stepped forward to carry out the mission of this group and have committed to participating in monthly conference calls and topical research between calls.  

Christina Miller is the co-founder of Ethical Metalsmiths and is leading the group with Christine Dhein, who is coordinating the group. Active members include industry experts, jewelers and educators; Anna Bario, Marc Choyt, Christine Dhein, Susie Ganch, Christina Miller, Rod Northcutt and Meg Roberts. New to the group in 2011 are jeweler Martin Taber along with students Jessica Hudson and Rose DeRatto. Additionally, Susie Ganch is teaching a Responsible Studio Practices Course at Virginia Commonwealth University and her students are generously contributing to the group's research.  

The Goals of the SPWG are to:

• Establish best practices for studio jewelers
• Provide leadership for responsible jewelry making
• Foster academic research partnerships between jewelry programs and the material sciences to develop responsible alternatives
• Encourage suppliers to make responsible materials available for studio jewelers
• Create supply chain transparency for jewelry tools, materials and supplies

Making information available on proper disposal procedures for commonly used studio chemicals was the group's top priority. A draft document outlining these procedures is currently in progress and will be posted in the Ethical Metalsmiths' website upon completion.

If you would like to contribute information, solutions, or financial support, have some time to volunteer, or if you are interested in researching these issues, please email us. We look forward to hearing from you and welcome your participation.

Jessica Hudson, a student at Prescott University, is currently creating her own course of study in Brazil. Passionate about sustainable jewelry, she decided to study independently through Prescott because the school allowed her the flexibility to create her own curriculum, enabling her to study sustainable jewelry making, a topic rarely addressed by traditional university systems. While she is in Brazil, Jessica is also studying Portugues, and working with a local jeweler.

Christine Dhein will be mentoring Jessica remotely in her sustainable jewelry studies. To complete her curriculum, Jessica will be participating in the Ethical Metlasmiths Sustainable Studio Practices Working Group (see SPWG article above), joining the phone calls via Skype from Brazil and submitting her assigned research assignments via email. Jessica will also be researching other important topics in sustainable jewelry making and reporting on them in her new column in Green Jewelry News.

The semester has just begun, and she is already starting to plan her visits to mines in Brazil to conduct interviews regarding mining practices. If you have any contacts at Brazilian mines, please email Jessica. A synopsis of her report will be included in a future issue and her full research paper will be published on the Ethical Metalsmiths' website.

International Jewelry Exchange Ethics, Ideas & Inspiration 

 

   

Clare Stiles (JSN), Ruta Brown (JSN), Reed Easley (MAC), Shana Astrachan (MAC), Christine Dhein (MAC), Susan Levett (JSN), and emiko oye (MAC)  

Last year, two groups of jewelers came together across the Atlantic to exchange ideas, insight, and inspiration. The exchange was sponsored by The Jewellers and Silversmith's Network (JSN), a group that meets regularly in the UK to exchange ideas and teach each other new techniques. This group invited members of the Bay Area Metal Arts Critique Collective (MAC) to participate, and In July, 2010, several members of JSN came to San Francisco for the first part of the exchange. Read more.

Ceramic chainmail jewelry and samples by JSN member Shona Lockheart 

For the second part of the exchange, the JSN invited MAC members to come to England to attend Material Connections, a one-day symposium JSN organized and held September 10, 2010 at The Maltings in Farnham, England. The action-packed symposium schedule included demonstrations on techniques for working with a wide variety of jewelry making materials, including glass, ceramics, anodized aluminum and argentium.  MAC members Shana Astrachan, Christine Dhein, Reed Easley and Kelly Nedderman gave a pannel presentation about the collective and individual work of MAC members, and discussed each American artist's use of both alternative and traditional materials and the influences of the chosen materials on the making process.  

Christine Dhein also presented a lecture on Recycled and Ethical Jewelry and co-presented a standing-room only lecture/demonstration on Keum-boo. Other highlights of the symposium included a luck dip pin swap and an exhibition featuring the work of both JSN and MAC members. Lean more and download the workshop notes on the JSN blog.

Lucky dip pins by JSN and MAC members Kelly Nedderman, Rebecca Skeels, Shona Lockheart, Christine Dhein, Clare Skiles, Reed Easley, Ruta Brown, Susan Levett and Shana Astrachan 

Before the symposium started, the JSN members organized a trip with MAC members to the IJL conference, where Christine Dhein attended a lecture by Ute Decker, a jeweler from England who has been researching and promoting sustainable jewelry making practices. Learn more about topics presented in her lecture, including fair trade gold and sustainable suppliers.