"My freedom ends where others' begins" - Jean-Paul Sartre

What are the consequences of our consumption? As Jean-Paul Sartre aptly puts it, we cannot ignore what happens when we exceed our own freedom of consumption. In the case of jewelry, it is very easy for them to hide atrocities such as child labor, gender-based violence, or human rights violations. Of course, this isn’t something brands go around shouting from the rooftops; rather, it is camouflaged through pretty designs and influencers. Few people talk about it. There is much more behind jewelry manufacturing that remains unknown today, and this article aims to finally help you understand what truly sustainable jewelry is.

Alliance for Responsible Mining: where sustainable jewelry is born

There are several ways to ensure that your jewelry has been produced in a responsible and sustainable manner. One of them is collaboration with global initiatives such as the Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM), which cares about mining that is respectful toward workers and the planet, and is free of abuse. ARM works primarily in Latin American and African countries, but its benefits span the entire world. At Luz de Nehca, for example, we have been working with them for years on several of their projects, such as "Fairmined" and "Somos Tesoro." For many women and men, mining means a way to provide for their children. It is their main livelihood. ARM manages to support these miners by working from all perspectives to cover the needs of those families, rather than demanding a radical change in their way of working overnight through imposition.

Fairmined: the certificate for sustainable jewelry

The whole world needed a way to ensure that their jewelry was truly sustainable and respectful of the environment and the people who work it on a small scale, and that was the result of the birth of the Fairmined certification. To achieve the fair and ethical jewelry we speak of, Fairmined certifies companies that meet certain organizational, labor, environmental, and traceability requirements. 

The organization describes the Fairmined certificate as a "world leader in its ability to achieve a positive impact for miners and their communities, and is a valuable tool for transforming artisanal and small-scale mining into an active force for good." You probably already know about the diamond problem, but perhaps not so much about the gold and silver one. To what extent are we responsible for mining being affected by this global consumerism? Who is suffering for it? This is precisely how the Fairmined certificate works, preventing anyone from paying for it with their health and, in many cases, their lives (regardless of their age).

Somos Tesoro: sustainable jewelry free of child labor

"Starting to work during childhood restricts development and restricts knowledge" - Patricia Henao, director of the Somos Tesoro project.

We might view child labor as something distant, as it is frowned upon and even illegal in first-world countries. Unfortunately, today it still happens regularly in many places around the world. The Somos Tesoro project completely protects the environment of children and young people so that they can continue their studies. They work on every aspect that influences them: with local and government officials, hand in hand, to create policies that prevent and eliminate child labor; with families, raising awareness from the roots; with schools, to promote the importance of knowledge development and prevent school dropout; and in the mines, teaching safe and healthy practices and raising awareness about how mining impacts childhood. 

Source: Somos Tesoro Project, ARM. As you can see, the tactic is based on knowledge to generate development, rather than external imposition and pressure. They work from that awareness in every aspect that can influence those children and young people to keep them away from mining until a sensible age. The achieved goals of the first stage of Somos Tesoro include: - More than 800 young people participated in responsible mining and vocational guidance workshops. - More than 60 public officials participated in safety and child mining labor courses. - 4 innovation pilot projects proposed by the miners themselves. - Experience exchange trips to Peru where miners and public officials from both countries were able to discuss best practices in mining. - Self-care campaign in 8 municipalities. Awareness of mining self-care allowed for the involvement of miners and their families in diverse and original activities such as workshops with children, radio campaigns, community events, and distribution of awareness materials to miners. Although they have already achieved even more goals than those mentioned above, they have also set ambitious but achievable objectives for this second stage of Somos Tesoro. They want to continue promoting responsible mining (also paving the way for sustainable jewelry), free of child labor.

More feminist projects from the Alliance for Responsible Mining

Source: Mujer minera, Fairmined. This global initiative not only cares about mining that is responsible toward the environment and human rights, but also commits to feminism. They demonstrate this through other projects they are carrying out, such as "Proudly Miners" and "Gender-based violence in the environment." Proudly Miners (Orgullosamente mineras) was born to empower women in the mining sector and provide visibility to this female participation through the Association of Entrepreneurial Women Miners (ASOAMME). Their objective is to create a mining environment that is equal and brings opportunities to men and women in equal measure. Gender-based violence in the environment, as ARM itself states, advocates for a safe space so that female miners can gather in organized associations, identify specific challenges, and implement an advocacy roadmap to address gender-based violence and environmental degradation in their communities.

Next steps: how to include sustainable and responsible jewelry in your jewelry box

GEMA Earrings, from the Mujer a Mujer collection. Not everything that glitters is gold, as the saying goes. There is much more behind conventional jewelry than meets the eye, and it affects the people in that supply chain. Every purchase impacts the planet and the people who work to make it possible for you to obtain it. That is why we must be conscious of what we decide to buy. A good example is fast fashion, which gives us food for thought: if I am not paying the real price of the garment, who is paying it? The same happens with jewelry. That is why I want to share three questions to verify that the jewelry brand you consume is truly respectful of the environment and human rights. - Does it have any certification that proves it is produced responsibly? - Where do the materials it uses come from? Have they been extracted sustainably? - Is the work artisanal or at a "factory level"? If everything adds up, go ahead. It is a sustainable jewelry brand, and you can treat yourself without harming others. Begin your true freedom! Did you know about this world behind jewelry? I'll read your comments. My dear #MujerNehca, you who are reading this: always remember to consume responsibly and in alignment with your values. Take care of others as you would like to be taken care of, and say thank you. Always say thank you.