Jewelry Retailers Fact Sheet

Jewelry Retailers Fact Sheet PDF

Jewelers Support Bristol Bay Protection

Over 50 leading jewelry retailers – including prominent U.S. retailers such as Tiffany & Co., Helzberg Diamonds and Ben Bridge Jewelers and U.K. jewelers such as Goldsmiths, Beaverbrooks, and Mappin & Webb – have pledged their support to permanently protect Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed from large-scale metal mining, including the proposed Pebble gold and copper mine.

The retailers took this step at the invitation of local Alaskans, who seek to protect wild salmon, clean water and traditional Alaskan ways of life from the damaging effects of industrial metal mines. These retailers, which represent over $4 billion in sales, have made it clear that they will not source gold for their jewelry from the proposed Pebble mine in the headwaters of Bristol Bay.

Gold used for jewelry

About 80 percent of gold demand in the United States is for jewelry. Globally, jewelry accounts for about 68 percent of gold demand. Retailers and consumers are becoming increasingly concerned about where their gold comes from and the impacts its production has on local communities and the environment. More gold jewelry facts from the No Dirty Gold camapaign.

GOLD MINING GENERATES VAST AMOUNTS OF WASTE

Today, mining enough gold to make one wedding ring generates roughly 20 tons of mine waste, according to the international No Dirty Gold consumer campaign.

The proposed Pebble mine, which could produce an estimated 94 million ounces of gold and 72 billion pounds of copper, would generate a staggering amount of waste – an estimated 9 billion tons – much of it containing acids and toxic metals, which would be stored on site in what is now a pristine Alaskan wilderness. (Source: Northern Dynasty Minerals)

Pebble is highlighted in a 2008 report by the No Dirty Gold consumer campaign led by EARTHWORKS. The report, Golden Rules: Making the Case for Responsible Mining, documents the toll of irresponsible mining on people, water and wildlife at a time when soaring metals prices are driving new mining development globally. The report describes human rights violations and environmental concerns at metals mines around the world.

LOCAL COMMUNITIES THANK JEWELERS

The proposed Pebble mine is backed by the UK-based Anglo American, one of the world’s largest metal mining companies, and Canadian firm Northern Dynasty Minerals. The Bristol Bay watershed, where the proposed mine would be located, supports the world’s most productive wild salmon fishery – which is critical to the state’s economy and to the livelihood of many Alaska Native communities.

"We want to express a sincere thank you to these jewelry companies," said Bobby Andrew, a spokesperson for Nunamta Aulukestai (Caretakers of the Land), an association of eight Alaska Native corporations. "The proposed Pebble mine threatens the wild salmon fishery that has sustained the region’s economy and our people for generations."

In 2007, Nunamta Aulukestai and a diverse group of Alaska Native communities, commercial fishermen, businesses and sportsmen publicly invited jewelry retailers to express support for the protection of Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed from large-scale mining. The invitation ran as a full-page ad in National Jeweler magazine.

Jewelry artists, designers and metalsmiths are also speaking publicly about the Pebble mine and irresponsible mining: Ethical Metalsmiths was formed to stimulate demand for responsibly sourced jewelry materials. Goldsmith Susan Kingsley, the group’s founder, wrote an op-ed on the subject that ran in the Denver Post last September. The Society of North American Goldsmiths has formed a resolution calling on the mining industry to reform their practices and source materials more responsibly.

CONSUMERS CARE ABOUT RESPONSIBLE GOLD SOURCING

Consumers today are more aware of the human and environmental costs of the goods and services they purchase than ever before. While other business sectors have responded to demand for cleaner, ethically produced goods and services – such as sustainably harvested wood products and fair trade coffee – the mining sector lags behind in terms of embracing an independent system for standards and verification. Some 100,000 consumers in more than 100 countries have signed on to the No Dirty Gold pledge, urging mining companies to provide alternatives to “dirty” gold.