Tomorrow, that is, Wednesday February 14, is Valentine Day. Already many people around the globe are sending and receiving precious gifts to mark the event. But Human Rights watchers want companies that make jewelry and wrist watches to do more to ensure that their supply chains are free of human rights abuse.
In other words, they know that the jewelry industry is in boom or season time now and could easily cut corners in order to reap in profits. That explains the call on manufacturers of gift items to improve their sourcing practices.
In their report entitled – The Hidden Cost of Jewelry – Human Rights groups scrutinized the sourcing of gold and diamonds by 13 major jewelry and watch brands that collectively generate over US$30 billion in annual revenue – about 10 percent of global jewelry sales.
The report also describes the abusive conditions under which precious minerals and metals are sometimes mined. Children have been injured and even killed doing hazardous work in small-scale gold or diamond mines. Communities have faced ill-health and environmental harm because mines have polluted waterways with toxic chemicals. And civilians have suffered enormously as abusive armed groups or governments have enriched themselves through mining.
The Associate Child Rights Director at Human Rights Watch, Juliane Kippen, was emphatic that “Many jewelers can do more to find out if their gold or diamonds are tainted by child labor or other human rights abuses. When someone buys a piece of jewelry for their loved one this Valentine’s Day, they should ask their jeweler what they have done to find out about its origin.”
Human Rights Watch has done extensive research in numerous countries where abusive practices, especially against children, taint the supply chain. In a 2015 report from the Philippines, a 16-year old boy described how he used to go underwater biting an air hose to search for gold, at the risk of drowning.
Precious minerals and stones are mined in dozens of countries around the world, and then typically traded, exported, and processed in other countries. Although their supply chains can be long and complex, jewelers and watchmakers have a responsibility to ensure that their operations do not contribute to human rights abuses at any point along those chains. So, whether you give or receive any jewelry this Valentine, think twice about the supply chain.
