Wow, we made it through another Covid year. Seriously, give yourself a pat on the back. Ever since The Source launched in October 2020, you’ve supported us and been the reason we keep writing and sharing our content. We thought it would be interesting to look back and see which of our original Source articles were your favorites!

The author of this guest article, Jorden de Haan, works with Pact’s Mines to Markets program in Nairobi, Kenya. He is a development practitioner specializing in the intersections of ASM, formalization, socio-economic development and peacebuilding in Sub-Saharan Africa.

This article by Estelle Levin-Nally and Danielle Keller Aviram was originally posted by Levin Sources on June 27th, 2019. Levin Sources is an advisory firm specialising in promoting responsible business conduct and good governance in minerals production and sourcing.

Marc Choyt's article, presented here, is centered around one question posed to the jewelry industry: “What’s our 500-year plan?” Providing insight to some of the central concerns many of us have, this “Ethical Jewelry 101”-style piece is a concise yet thorough overview of ethical jewelry, helpful in filling in some of the gaps many of us have — as well as in grounding us in our current moment.

The European Union (EU) regulation on conflict minerals took effect on January 1, 2021, following several years of consultations and preparations. Related but not identical to the United States Dodd-Frank legislation on conflict minerals, the EU regulation applies only to direct importers of minerals, and it is global, not only focused on the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and its immediate neighbors.

This article was originally published by Levin Sources on March 30th, 2021 and we received written permission from Lucie Goulet at Levin Sources to repost both text and images.

At the diamond-cutting center in Windhoek, Namibia, facet-by-facet some of the most disadvantaged citizens of this African country are shaping out a professional career for themselves. The company is the biggest employer of disabled people in the country, which amounts to 100,000 people of its population of just over 2 million.

On 15 November, contractors’ bulldozers converged on the mine on the outskirts of Mutare. They planned to “reclaim” it from the local community, who had been mining there independently with low-tech tools and without the backing of a company (known as artisanal or small-scale mining).

In mid-2020, 29 BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) U.S.- and U.K.-based jewelry designers penned an open letter to the jewelry industry, inspired by the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.

In mid-2020, 29 BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) U.S.- and U.K.-based jewelry designers penned an open letter to the jewelry industry, inspired by the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement.

Kyle Abram (KA): How did you get into the jewelry world?

Bob Goodman, the third-generation owner of Robert Goodman Jewelers in Zionsville, Ind., hates public speaking, but he isn’t shy about speaking his mind. “For the last eight to 10 years, we’ve had as part of our DNA to talk about politics and religion with our customers,” he says.

Completely cleansing the global diamond industry of blood, corruption, and conflict is no easy feat, and few are more familiar with this challenge than Ian Smillie.

A founding participant in the creation of the Kimberley Process (KP), Smillie currently chairs the Diamond Development Initiative (DDI), a conflict-prevention initiative that brings together non-government organizations (NGOs), governments, and the private sector to help formalize and improve social and economic conditions in the artisanal diamond mining sector.

Columbia Gem House generously provided gemstones to 25 designers who will contribute their time and metalsmithing skills to the cause - Ethical in Action.

EM deeply cares about justice in the jewelry industry - and that includes justice and equal opportunity for Black and Indigenous People Of Color (BIPOC) jewelry designers, makers, and retailers.