The good Conscience has its price. Whether the CO2-compensation in the case of airline tickets or the Bioaufkleber cheese: to pay consumers more to conserve nature and to ensure that producers receive a fair merit. And so there are in Switzerland, meanwhile, is also fair, Gold of Max Havelaar to buy. It assures the buyers that their gold jewelry was funded under decent conditions. The amounts of the fair-funded precious metal are modest. After some initial difficulties, the Gold Label is now hoping for the breakthrough.
“The demand for fair-Gold large,” says Markus Staub, Max Havelaar for Fair Trade Gold and responsible. “We could sell five times the amount in Switzerland.” Internationally, he estimates the potential in the long term, 10 to 15 tons per year. This year, the Label approximately 400 pounds has been certified Gold, compared to the previous year, which is almost twice as much. For comparison: 4000 to 5000 metric tons of global gold is needed per year. About half is needed for jewelry, important customers, Central banks and asset managers are.
However, customers do not hold back, as long as it is not guaranteed that there is enough fair Gold is available. Among the purchasers of the Max-Havelaar-Golds banks in addition to various cantonal small gold forging with a reasonable demand, or larger companies such as Atelier Swarovski, for certain collections. “Great watch and jewellery brands need a lot of Gold, it is for us, but still difficult, so much to offer,” says dust.
For wedding rings and bullion
The need is there. That shows in the Bernese goldsmith Jörg Eggimann. He processed Fair-Trade Gold from Max Havelaar to jewelry. To wedding rings, a big part of it. “The consciousness of the customers has increased in the last few years,” says Eggimann. He covers a need, therefore, for almost all its Gold from fair sources. In addition to Max Havelaar, he also relies on the Foundation of Eco Andina. It is one of the pioneers in the environmental mining. The Gold is recovered in Argentina in small quantities in a lot of manual work as environmentally friendly as possible.
it is Also fair gold ingots are in demand. According to the Zürcher Kantonalbank sustainability is for many Bank customers a big topic. The show the growing demand for Fair Trade Gold. “The potential is very large,” says Repak Drazen, he metals forwards at the ZKB trading with precious. “We would lose more Gold if it is available would be,” says Repak.
The price premium for fair Gold will be accepted by the customer. In the case of the small bars he is in any case negligible. The Fair Trade Label costs a premium of $ 2,000 per Kilo. A Kilo of Gold is currently subject to 48’000 Swiss francs. The Fair Trade premium, the customer return will be refunded, if he is the ZKB bullion sold back to the gold. The ZKB sold Fair-Trade gold bullion bars 1 to 10 grams. Because the amount of gold is limited, could offer the Bank no larger bars, as Repak.
The market is there, but it is for Max Havelaar is difficult to satisfy this demand. The structure of the certified gold mining in Peru is for the Label not easy. The cooperation with the Fair Trade mines is a mountain and valley ride. “We need to have regularity and a relationship of trust,” says dust. The miners were used to making decisions from day to day. “When we had established the market demand, have lost the mines because of the while years, small volumes, the interest and dropped out,” recalls dust. With the certification of 13 new mines the offer had been stabilized again.
risk of child labor
Max Havelaar for the promotion of Peru. Fairmined, international Gold Label, is in Peru, Colombia and Mongolia actively. In Switzerland, it is less well known. According to Mark Pieth, this way makes sense. The legal scholars at the University of Basel has published a book about the international gold trade and the role of Switzerland therein. “In countries such as Peru or Bolivia, to be fair, Gold promote,” said Pieth. To a lesser extent the same is true for Colombia, even though the funding is there, more affected by crime. In Africa, there are also projects for fair Gold, for example, in Burkina Faso. The risk for children to work, but bigger had. “Children have to be roped down in holes and dig there for Gold,” says Pieth.
He welcomed the role of the Labels, the fairness of the Gold guarantee. “So you can go, that the Gold was not dug out of the ground in your own the wedding ring of children, it needs institutions, the check,” said Pieth. Check the source of the gold and the supply chain to the goldsmith. Pieth also jewelers are known, the yourself to of the mines traveling, and the Gold to buy locally. A great effort is necessary. “This is only possible when you know the mines very carefully,” said Pieth. This effort is accomplished for many goldsmiths to be very difficult. Goldsmith Eggimann perceives the Fair-Gold-label as an aid. “I would be overwhelmed if I had to take care of the procurement of the gold from fair sources,” says Eggimann.
Pieth does not look at the Gold label, a need for improvement: “are you doing the most that it is for the mines to be attractive is to promote fair Gold”. Many small mines operated under catastrophic conditions. In his book Pieth, describes child labour, alcoholism and the use of toxic substances such as mercury and cyanide. The non-industrial mines are widely used in some regions. “The informal mines are brutal and not environmentally friendly,” says the criminal lawyer and anti-corruption expert. Thus, in the mines, the States can be improved, they need better financing. “The collaboration with the mines needs to be in the long term, and for the miners to be worthwhile,” said Pieth.
Created: 03.11.2019, 20:39 PM
