Jeweller - May 2022

Underground silver miner, Cerro Rico, Bolivia.
Meat vendor, artisanal gemstones miner, Karakorum Range, Northern Pakistan.
And these challenges pervade the entire responsible
sourcing sector, whether that involves the RJC, WDC
or CIBJO. The legislation and codes of conduct are
only as tight as the interest groups controlling them
will allow.
If you have powerful vested interests fighting you the
entire way, the chances are that legislation or codes of
practice will tend to offer leniency towards those same
interest groups. At the same time, they will block every
nook and cranny for those without sufficient resources
to fight their case.
To see this logic in practice, it is instructive to look at
the EU CAHRA legislation that came into effect on 1
January 2021. This legislation was released with much
fanfare and is still trumpeted by the international
responsible sourcing groupies as being the high-water
mark in global responsible sourcing legislation.
The legislation followed the OECD Due Diligence
Guidance, however, when the legislation was
published, it applied only to the 3Ts and G - the 3Ts
being tin, tantalum and tungsten and the G being gold.
A senior OECD official recently wrote to me and said
that the Guidance was limited to these minerals
because it takes time to get the industry prepared.
That’s accepted, but I pointed out and suggested
to him that the draft legislation was first produced
in 2017 and that the responsible sourcing push by
legislators around the world had been happening
since the Obama administration began in 2010.
Further, that the OECD Guidance was originally
finalised in 2013.
How much ‘time’ is enough? And how much time
should be enough?
This is to assume that the participants involved are
genuine about the process and not merely virtue
signaling. A mounting body of platitudes and evidence
seems to support the latter.
The apparent lunacy of it all is then amplified by
the fact that the EU CAHRA legislation has no
enforcement or penalty provisions and that any
changes to this may be considered when a review of
the legislation is slated for 2023 or 2024.
To quote responsible sourcing consultants and risk
management firm, Achilles, when the new CAHRA
legislation was published: “Both the law in the US
and EU currently lack any real teeth. However, it
is expected that sanctions or penalties could be
introduced in Europe at a later stage if little progress
is made, potentially following its first review in 2023.”
[Emphasis added].
Biggest question for retailers
This brings us all the way back to the original
question: How can I do ‘good’ and buy responsibly
sourced jewellery?
If I’m being honest, I still can’t answer that question.
Clearly if you’re a member of the JAA or RJC then
there will be some obligations that you will need to
follow.
If you have powerful vested interests fighting
you the entire way, the chances are that
legislation or codes of practice will tend to offer
leniency towards those same interest groups.
However, whether there are penalties for failing to do
so is another question entirely. On the other hand, if
you’re not a member, it’s pretty much happy days – do
what you like!
Regardless of whether you are a member of the JAA
or RJC or not, then in my view it matters not as to
whether the gemstones you are buying have been
bought responsibly. What really matters is visiting
the communities where the resources are produced
and building some sense of understanding as to what
positives or negatives will come from your buying
decision.
No matter how hard people try to package up and
present responsible sourcing as the solution to
difficult problems around the world, these things still
come back to the same things as they always have.
The big guys write the rulebook and the little guys get
pushed around and kicked out.
If legislators around the world were serious about
responsible sourcing in the minerals industry there
would be no exclusions by legislators for any mineral.
The rules would be enforced equally whether breaches
relate to the artisanals or the largest companies.
At the moment this isn’t happening.
There is a reason that not all minerals fall within
legislation and COP guidelines and it’s because some
people are more powerful than others. And as many
times as they may say it, this has nothing to do with
legislators and policy-makers not having had enough
time to get it right and everything to do with politics
and influence.
I believe that the existing system that has arisen is
fundamentally flawed and will never be fixed. But
that’s a discussion for another time.
In the meantime, you may now be wondering whether
‘responsibly sourced’ includes enormous profits
being repatriated back to wealthy countries from
impoverished countries or, if it means giving some of
the poorest families in the world the chance to survive
and prosper?
Whatever your intent, I wish you all the best in
trying to ensure your responsibly sourced jewellery
and gemstones are actually ‘responsibly sourced’,
depending on what that means to you, and your
customer.
Good luck!
HUGH BROWN has dedicated the past 15 years
to a publishing project about artisanal miners.
The book – The Garimpeiros Project aims to
raise the profile of the world’s poorest miners,
and to educate rich and powerful about the
value they bring- hbrownofficial.com/msp
He is active on Facebook at HUGHBROWN9
or linkedin.com/in/hugh-brown-37a73132
May 2022 | 45