A glittering night for Fairtrade and Fairmined gold

By Stuart Barber, Media and PR Manager, Fairtrade Foundation

What a night for the Fairtrade movement at last night’s Observer Ethical Awards!  I was in the crowd in the beautiful surroundings of the Victoria and Albert Museum in Kensington to see the country’s leading ethical champions and trailblazers being awarded for their fantastic work.

I was there with Fairtrade gold pioneer Greg Valerio, along with his team from CRED Jewellery. I was really thrilled when he won the Global Campaigner award. This is such a terrific boost for the Fairtrade Fairmined gold movement. Greg has been instrumental in the realization of Fairtrade and Fairmined certified gold, and this award will act as recognition of the difference he has made on a global level in bringing the social and environmental issues around gold mining to the world’s attention.  

He has been a towering figure in the traceable supply chain agenda from mine to retail.  His passionate campaigning for change in the jewellery and mining industries, and his belief in the potential of Fairtrade principles to transform the lives of indigenous mining communities around the world, led to the launch of the first Fairtrade and Fairmined certified gold in the UK earlier this year.  

It has been an amazing journey that has taken him to some of the remotest regions of our world, meeting some of the most extraordinary people and witnessing some of the best and the worst practices in mining.

Joining Greg on stage last night to receive his award was Americo Mosquera, an Oro Verde miner from Colombia. Americo is one of the artisanal and small-scale miners working in the Chocó region of Colombia whose gold has been used to create some amazing jewellery which is being showcased as part of London Jewellery Week this week.

On receiving his award from the beautiful Livia Firth, wife of actor Colin Firth, Greg went on to thank Americo for his pioneering work.  He said  ‘Americo was the very first miner that I met on my first visit to Colombia in 2003.  It was watching him work environmentally in the jungle of Colombia, the son of an African slave, whose pioneering and environmental process in gold mining that was the inspiration behind the first ever traceable gold supply chain that went in to creating Fairtrade gold jewellery.’

It was such an inspirational night. Brilliant in every way!