Onestop Fairtrade Advanced

NEWS LESSONS / Fairtrade hallmark sets the gold standard / Advanced•P

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E© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2011

Fairtrade hallmark sets the gold standard

Level 3 Advanced

Warmer1

Answer the questions about Fairtrade below.

What do you know about Fairtrade?1.

Can you describe the Fairtrade logo?2.

Name at least six Fairtrade products.3.

Key words2Fill the gaps in the sentences using these key words from the text.

the best possible example of a particular type of thing __________________________1.

generally considered to be honest and reliable __________________________2.

treating people unfairly in order to get some benefit for yourself __________________________3.

the business of buying and selling things such as drugs or weapons illegally __________________________4.

to remove something from a particular place __________________________5.

the ability to be found or followed __________________________6.

important and powerful people in a field of business __________________________7.

gold or silver in the form of solid bars __________________________8.

a process in which two or more things are combined __________________________ 9.

to remove a chemical or mineral from something as a result of water passing through it 10. __________________________

searching for gold, oil or another valuable substance __________________________11.

a noun meaning 12. the money that is earned to live on __________________________

prospecting amalgamation traceability trafficking leach epitome extract influentialplayers living bullion exploitative reputable


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Level 3 Advanced

Fairtrade hallmark sets the gold standardGold mining goes hand in hand with war, environmental degradation and poor health. As the world’s first hallmark for Fairtrade gold is launched in the UK, this is an industry that is crying out for an ethical overhaul

Kate Carter 14 February, 2011

Greg Valerio is a jeweller who has spent more than a decade trying to persuade his industry to focus more on human rights. He says, “You are selling a high-value, aesthetic, aspirational, emotional product, which is pitched as the epitome of luxury, but the source is ugly. The gold you are buying could be from a completely reputable mine – or it could be from a place of horror. You just don’t know.”

Gold is one of the most potent symbols of wealth, power, glamour and romance. But the industry is often secretive, exploitative and highly unregulated. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, gold and other minerals are funding a war in which five million people have died since 1996, yet there is no global campaign to ban trafficking of ‘blood gold’. It is often extracted by the most vulnerable – in Ivory Coast, for instance, the UN has reported how five-year-old girls are sent down pits – yet few seem to realize this. It causes enormous environmental damage, with mercury and cyanide often used in the extraction process, but these issues are rarely thrust into the spotlight. And then there’s the issue of traceability.

But something is changing. In February, the world’s first Fairtrade and Fairmined hallmark for gold was launched in the UK. This will ensure that customers buying jewellery can, for the first time, know exactly where it came from. Like other hallmarks, this mark will be a physical stamp, and each piece will be fully traceable and come with its own certification.

The initiative already has the support of some influential players in the industry, including Stephen Webster, the creative director at the

world’s oldest jewellery firm, Garrard. “We intend to quickly grow the volume of business we conduct using Fairtrade gold,” he says. “One day I want it to be 100% of the gold we sell. Even though the cost to us for such gold is over 10% higher, we don’t want price to be the reason not to choose a more responsible product.”

The response from Signet, the company behind British retail brands H Samuel and Ernest Jones, was more cautious. “We are fully aware of Fairtrade gold and our membership of the Responsible Jewellery Council means that we subscribe to making all parts of our business and supply chain conform to and develop ethical standards.”

“As a major retailer who does not manufacture our own jewellery products, we are several stages removed from stocking bullion which is one of the initial basic stages of the supply chain. However, when the supply of Fairtrade gold can meet the demands required by our business and we are presented with appropriate products at prices suitable for our customers, we may consider selling a range.”

Behind the corporate-speak, there are ordinary people living brutal lives. More than 100 million people around the world are dependent on small-scale gold mining for their daily bread, often earning just one US dollar a day, yet there are few laws to protect them and their environment. Meanwhile, our lust for gold grows.

Then there are the environmental and health considerations involved. Gold can be mined in a variety of ways, few of them pleasant. One of them is mercury amalgamation. This involves crushing the gold-bearing rock and mixing it with mercury, chemically binding it with the gold. It is then heated, to evaporate the poisonous chemical.

The most common method of gold extraction, cyanide leaching, is just as bad. The crushed remains of ore-bearing rocks are mixed with cyanide to dissolve them. The gold is then separated out in open pits that can leach the toxic chemical into the groundwater. Accidents can have a devastating impact, but the

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environmental impact of gold mining is not often reported.

As Christian Cheesman, the co-founder with Valerio of ethical and fair trade luxury jewellery company Cred, explains: “I went out on a trip in the middle of the night, in the Choco rainforest in Colombia to watch illegal miners in operation. They work with diggers to shift vast swathes of rainforest to get to the gold, then disappear before first light. When you see three mechanical diggers just tearing up the rainforest and dumping it, it’s pretty gutting, pretty emotional, pretty moving. You’re looking at people who are getting a fairly minimal wage to operate the machinery. Somebody behind the scenes is taking that gold, selling it on to market and making a hell of a lot of money.”

Valerio and Cheesman are emotional about what they’ve seen, and this may well be what has driven their commitment to the Fairtrade mark. Everyone involved in the new standard hopes that it will be a success with consumers, and will put pressure on other jewellers to reform their own practices and press for greater knowledge of their materials.

“This has to happen,” says Webster. “There are prospecting areas where parents are working with mercury, which they know is poisonous but it’s their living, and their kids are playing next to mercury pits. Fairtrade has helped small-scale suppliers in the banana and coffee trades – hopefully it will, over time, do the same in our industry too.”

© Guardian News & Media 2011First published in The Guardian, 14/02/11


Level 3 Advanced

Comprehension check3Find the answers to these questions in the article and then discuss the answers.

What is ‘blood gold’?1.

What will the Fairtrade hallmark on gold bullion signify to customers?2.

Who are Webster, Cheesman and Valerio?3.

In which ways do Garrad’s and Signet’s attitudes to Fairtrade gold differ?4.

How could consumer pressure help poor miners and their families?5.

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Level 3 Advanced

Project 6

Which arguments would you use in an advertising campaign which aims to persuade people to buy jewellery made only from Fairtrade gold? Discuss, research and make notes. Use the information you have gatheredtomakeoneofthefollowing:aposter,leaflet,PowerPointpresentation,video,etc.

Discussion 5Do you think that the average consumer will be willing to pay more for Fairtrade gold? Why? Why not?•How has your perception of the gold industry changed after reading this article?•

Which adjectives are used in the article to talk about the following three topics: gold & gold jewellery, the gold industry and gold mining & sourcing? Write them onto the word wheels and then add further ideas of your own.

Adjectives4

gold & gold jewellery

gold mining & sourcing

the gold industry


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Fairtrade hallmark sets the gold standard Level 3 Advanced

KEY

Teacher’s note: If possible, take a product that bears the Fairtrade logo (e.g. chocolate or coffee) with you to the lesson. Alternatively, go to the Fairtrade website and copy the logo to show in class at: http://www.fairtrade.net/ This should be shown after students have completed the Warmer.

2 Key words

epitome1. reputable2. exploitative3. trafficking4. extract5. traceability6. influential players7. bullion8. amalgamation9. leach10. prospecting11. living12.

3 Understanding the article

‘Blood gold’ is a term used to describe gold that 1. has, in some way, led to war and suffering. It is gold that is extracted by some of the most vulnerable in society, causing much damage in the process, and yet is seen as the epitome of luxury. The new Fairtrade hallmark will ensure that 2. customers know where the gold comes from. Stephen Webster is the creative director at the 3. world’s oldest jewellery firm, Garrard. Christian Cheesman is the co-founder of the ethical and fair trade luxury jewellery company Cred. Greg Valerio is a jeweller who has spent more than a decade trying to persuade his industry to focus more on human rights.

Jewellery firm Garrard hope to only sell Fairtrade 4. gold in the future. Signet is more cautious and will only sell some Fairtrade gold when the supply can meet their business demands, at the right prices. Even then, they do not guarantee this. If consumers choose to buy Fairtrade products 5. instead of other products, this will put pressure on retailers that do not sell these products to change their ways.

4 Adjectives

(suggested answers from the article)gold & gold jewellery: high-value, aesthetic, • aspirational, emotional, epitome (of luxury), traceable, responsiblethe gold industry: secretive, exploitative, • unregulated, (environmentally damaging)gold mining & sourcing: reputable, poisonous • devastating, gutting, emotional, moving

6 Project

Teacher’s note: This task could be set in lesson time or as a homework task. How you ask your students to do the task will depend on their age and the technology available. The results could be anything from a sheet of paper containing bullet points, to a video or a PowerPoint presentation. To extend the task, students could present their advertising materials in class.

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