At Alex Monroe, we are delighted to be working with Fairmined as part of our ongoing mission to improve our environmental and social responsibility within our business and the wider jewellery industry.
Fairmined is an accredited assurance label that certifies gold from small-scale mining organisations in line with the UN standards for responsible environmental, social and economic mining practices. Their mission is to transform mining into an active force for good and provide the world with a source of gold to be proud of.
Our Autumn Winter 2021 collection Fables will be plated exclusively in Fairmined gold plate, and from September 2021 every new piece of plated Alex Monroe jewellery made in our workshop will make use of Fairmined gold.
About Fairmined
Fairmined is an assurance label that certifies gold from small-scale mining organizations going against the grain and embracing responsible practices - thereby transforming mining into an active force for good and providing everyone with a source of gold to be proud of.
The Fairmined initiative was first developed between 2006 and 2008 by the Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM): a not-for-profit organization globally recognized as a leader and pioneer of responsible artisanal and small-scale mining. The Fairmined accreditation has been recognized by global miners, the gold industry, national governments, and civil society as a robust and credible standard, ensuring responsibility, transparency, safety, and empowerment in a historically dangerous and damaging industry.
Raising Awareness
Approximately 20 million people worldwide are engaged in artisanal and small-scale gold mining with over 150 million people, miners, and their families, depending on this activity to make a living.
However, irresponsible practices in the past have created a negative reputation for small-scale miners. Gold mining in particular tends to be associated with unsafe working conditions, gender inequality, unfair labour practices, organised crime, and environmental damage.
Fairmined are working tirelessly to raise awareness of the vital need to regulate the artisanal and small-scale mining sector to mitigate against these issues - and highlight to the global gold industry how their support of this important accreditation can generate a positive reverberation spanning continents and benefiting the lives of millions.
“As a company, Alex Monroe has always tried to be as responsible as possible. We love what we do, but jewellery making has a notoriously complicated history when it comes to ethical practice and sustainability - particularly in regard to the mining of metals and gemstones. Fairmined is doing incredible work to address this” - Alex Monroe
Our Mission
Our Autumn Winter 2021 collection Fables will be the first to be plated exclusively from Fairmined gold plate - and Fairmined’s strict accreditation process and absolute transparency, means that we can trace the gold used on ‘Fables’ all the way back to its original source - the Iquira Mine in the Huila region of Columbia. From September 2021 every piece of plated jewellery made at Alex Monroe will make use of Fairmined gold - with the eventual aim that every nugget of gold used in our plated jewellery will be sourced from empowered, small-scale mining organisations in line with the UN standards for responsible social, economic and environmental practices.
Fables AW/21 Collection
Our Fables collection will be the first Alex Monroe collection to be plated using licensed Fairmined gold - an accredited standard which means that we are supporting responsibly managed community mines.
Our Ethos
Since Alex first started making his jewellery over 30 years ago, he has always been mindful of the impact of his work, and the jewellery industry as a whole, on the environment and its people. From our brand ethos, to our making process, the materials we use, and our partners and suppliers - our Ethos hub outlines our actions as a small business to be as conscientious and responsible as we can be, in regards to the jewellery we love to make.
