Is Fairtrade Gold more expensive than ‘normal’ gold?
This is a question I am often asked. The simple answer is no.
The Fairtrade minimum price for pure gold is set at 95% of the usual London Bullion Market Association’s fixing for gold. A much fairer price than the oft accepted 70% that artisanal and small-scale miners (ASM) are used to.
Fairtrade Gold assures those miners they will be paid a fair price for their work, that they work in safe conditions, there is gender equality in those mines, that environmental standards are kept and there is no child labour.
Perhaps you could even go so far as to say that non-fairtrade gold is in fact more ‘expensive’ than Fairtrade Gold in terms of overall quality of life for those who work to mine and produce the gold. The terrible poverty and awful conditions some ASM miners live in is unacceptable. They are underpaid for their gold and live and work in unsafe conditions due to the chemicals used in the gold extraction process.
For every piece of Fairtrade Gold Jewellery purchased communities and miners benefit.
The Fairtrade Gold certification strives to create a better deal for everyone involved.
Sotrami mine in Peru is an excellent example of this.
They have gone from strength to strength since their Fairtrade certification and have even recently bought computers for their village school and are developing a non-profit grocery and supply store.
For more info take a look at http://www.fairgold.org/