Part I of III. The jewelry industry is in many ways a messy one, marked by ecological degradation, disruption of social and economic order, child labour, even slavery and murder.
Part 2 of 3. The jewelry industry is in many ways a messy one. The Kimberley Process tries to install a way to preempt many of the abuses. But it is only partially successful.
Part 3 of 3. The jewelry industry is in many ways a messy one. What are the concrete business challenges and experiences encountered in the Far East, e.g. Japan?
On February 9th 2011, the Fairtrade Labelling Organisation successfully launched the Fairtrade Gold Standard. The UK is the first market where FT gold is available.
The jewellery industry still generally lacks clear certification standards. Here some definitions used to describe responsibly sourced & manufactured jewellery.
Looking at the sales figures of luxury brands a single conclusion can be drawn: The luxury sector is doing well.
The structure of its customers, and the brands' efforts to maintain expert craftsmanship suggests that the luxury sector is where ethical brands really can start changing the world.
The reaping (black market) trade in reptile skins for the luxury fashion and accessories market is an openly talked about, albeit ugly, reality of the present.
The recently published UNCTAD BioTrade report and toolkit provides useful and pragmatic info for designers.
In the luxury segment, production focuses on highly complex garments and low order volumes that might involve just five pieces per style which makes sourcing very challenging. The approach currently pursued by European high-end apparel brands to address the problem is that of ‘High End Fashion Cluster‘.
Arabel Lebrusan trained in the art of jewellery in the most prestigious European schools, and has collaborated throughout her career in projects with international companies such as Swarowski. Today, she leverages all her experiences and her knowledge about artisanal techniques, apply them to contemporary designs.
I had the chance to speak at the Green Business conference last week in Istanbul about future market scenarios for the fashion industry. The conference is an event of the Sustainability Academy in Turkey.
Key highlights from the event
