The notion of fair trade fine jewellery started with Greg Valerio and his work as an aspiring ethical jeweller in the 1990's. Greg soon discovered that the gold, silver and precious stones he was using came from some very murky places. Making Trouble is Greg's unique story of how he pioneered the idea of ethical, fair trade and traceably sourced jewellery in an industry that did not care. Small scale mining is the second biggest global employer, and many of those miners earn a pittance, grinding poverty forcing them to labour long hours in dirty and dangerous conditions. Informed by those in the jewellery trade that this would never change, Greg set out to prove them wrong. Fairly traded gold is now available in the UK, although the battle continues in diamonds and coloured gemstones.
PeaceGold™
Since 2013 Greg has been working closely with The Centre for Resolution Conflict and Peace Direct in Ituri Province in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. The PeaceGold programme works with ex-militia (male and female) to legalise their work in gold mining, to turn their gold processing mercury free and to establish an export platform for their gold. These groundbreaking communities have worked hard to overcome huge, social, political and environmental challenges to achieve gold mining COOP’s that embed peace building, mercury free production and socially transformative cooperative practices that directly impact local communities in a sustainable way.
Currently PeaceGold is transitioning from a grant funded programme to a social enterprise model of business where shared ownership of the supply chain (mine to market) is at the heart of a circular economy that aims to use gold as a means by which we build out the peace and uphold human rights.
Valerio Jewellery
The fine jewellery brand Valerio Jewellery was founded by Greg Valerio, the ethical jeweller and environmental activist. In 2011 he became the Observer Ethical Awards Global Campaigner, advocating Fairtrade gold. His ideology for the brand is that luxury jewellery for the rich needn't be at the expense and exploitation of the poor.
Fairtrade Gold
Greg worked with The Fairtrade Labelling Organisation (FLO) and other International Fairtrade Organisations from 2010 to 2014 co-ordinating their International Gold programme. Whether it was advising on the content of the Fairtrade Gold standard, introducing refiners, manufacturers, Assay Offices, trade associations and government bodies, he was able to work right across the gold supply chain. Coupled with his experience as the first ethical jeweller, and a founder of ARM, he has developed an intimate knowledge of traceable supply chains, from mine to market.
Alliance for Responsible Mining
In 2005, alongside artisan miners from Colombia, Greg Valerio was one of the founding Board members of ARM. An NGO mineral consultancy that specialises in working with artisanal mining communities. Stepped down in 2010.
Making Trouble
Fair trade jewellery has been around for a while - but while those crafting it worked under Fair Trade principles, the gold, silver and precious stones they were using came from some very murky places. Small scale mining is the second biggest global employer, and many of those mines pay a pittance, forcing their workers to labour long hours in dirty and dangerous conditions - for a pittance. Informed by those in the jewellery trade that this would never change, Greg Valerio set out to prove them wrong. Fairly traded gold is now available in the UK, although the battle continues for other metals and products.