Exploring Ethical Gold: A Journey Through Options, Impact, and Shared Responsibility

In June, I had the absolute joy of attending an evening at the Goldsmiths’ Centre titled Creative Links: Ethical Gold – Exploring Sourcing Options. It was one of those events that leaves your head buzzing with insight and your heart hopeful for the future of our craft.

I was surrounded by passionate voices representing SMO (Single Mine Origin) Gold, Fairmined, Fairtrade, and The Royal Mint’s e-waste gold initiative—each offering a unique approach to sourcing responsibly. What stood out wasn’t just the depth of knowledge but the sense of collaboration—a shared understanding that no one solution fits all, but together, they form a path toward a more ethical and inclusive jewellery industry.

SMO Gold

Although SMO gold comes from large-scale mining (LSM), it offers something that often gets overlooked in that world: transparency and community care. It’s fully traceable, uses no mercury, and actively invests in improving the lives of those living near the mines. Showing, when it’s done well—ethically and mindfully—it can create incredible, scalable impact.

Fairmined

Fairmined has long been a beacon in responsible sourcing. They offer two streams of gold:

• Fairmined Standard Gold: Responsibly mined with carefully controlled chemical use (like mercury), and traceable from mine to maker.

• Fairmined Ecological Gold: Completely chemical-free—the only gold with fairmined that can claim that title. An amazing option for those who want to support both people and planet with every gram.

  
  

Fairtrade Gold

Like Fairmined, it works with small-scale miners, encouraging responsible practices and aiming to phase out mercury altogether. There are three pathways to work with Fairtrade, they include fully licensed, a scheme where you can use part fairtrade gold within you work, or for micro business like myself that can't afford the licensing fees, we can make with fairtrade gold, howeber we are unable to use the hallmark.

The Royal Mint

The Royal Mint has taken innovation to another level with their e-waste recovery process happening in Wales. Using advanced chemistry, they extract gold from discarded electronic devices—even capturing gases that would otherwise be wasted. Infact they recycled everything. While this gold isn’t currently available to the trade and used for their own jewellery collection 886, it’s exciting to know this technology works. It proves that circular economy models are not only possible—they’re happening.

New from Fairmined: The Credit System

An exciting announcements of the night was the launch of Fairmined Credits. For small-scale jewellers like me, the cost of certified gold can be prohibitive—but this new system allows me to purchase “credits” that directly support responsible mining communities, even while working with recycled gold.

It’s a perfect blend of accessibility and impact, allowing those of us working at a more intimate scale to still be part of a global ethical movement. I’m actively exploring this and hope to incorporate Fairmined Credits into what I offer you, my customers, very soon.

Reflecting on What It All Means

For me, this evening didn’t just confirm the value of the sourcing choices I already make—it deepened my resolve to keep learning, adapting, and collaborating. From SMO to Fairmined, Fairtrade to recycled, each offers something unique. And rather than one being “better” than another, the real beauty lies in how they can complement each other.

The truth is, the route to more ethical jewellery is not a single path—it’s a shared journey. A layered, evolving tapestry of choices and consequences, woven with intention, compassion, and creativity.

Some Quick Facts Your Jewellery Might Not Tell You:

• ASM (Artisanal and Small-Scale Mining) produces 15–20% of gold globally, supporting 100 million lives.

• LSM (Large-Scale Mining) produces ~80% of the world’s gold but employs only 20% of the mining workforce.

• Over 80% of global mining employment is within ASM communities.

• Only Fairmined Ecological Gold is certified mercury- and chemical-free.

• Fairmined Credits now allow small jewellers to directly support ethical mining, even while using recycled materials.

(Source: Fairmined, Fairtrade Gold, SMO Gold, The Royal Mint, Responsible Jewellery Council)

Let’s Keep the Conversation Going

If you’d like to learn more about the ethical gold options behind your bespoke piece—or want to discuss creating something with a story rooted in purpose—I’d love to chat. Ethical sourcing (or responsible sourcing as you know how i feel about the word ethical jewellery) is something I care deeply about, and I’m always happy to share what I’ve learned (and am still learning).