FAIRTRADE GOLD
22.03.2010 - FLO announces the launch of Fairtrade standards for gold, developed in partnership with the Colombian-based Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM). Fairtrade and Fairmined standards for gold provides a lifeline for communities who find themselves at the mercy of unbalanced markets, when agriculture and other livelihoods are not viable. Many small-scale miners face explotation from middlemen who pay below market prices and cheat them on weight and purity of the gold.
Fairtrade certified artisanal miners will get a better price for their gold as well as a premium for community and business development. The premium will be increased for those miners who use 'organic extracting', hence without using chemicals and with strict ecological restoration practices.
Fairmined projects have been recently launched in Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. For more information, visit ARM's website or download the Fact Sheet on Fairtrade Gold (format PDF, size 906kb).
