Fairtrade Fortnight: Lisa Rothwell-Young

In celebration of the upcoming Fairtrade Fortnight, we spoke to makers who have worked to incorporate ethical, sustainable practices in their work, particularly in the use of Fairtrade precious metals. Lisa Rothwell-Young is an ethical fine jeweller based in Dumfries & Galloway in the borders of Scotland. Lisa is now a Fairtrade Foundation registered goldsmith. All the pieces Lisa creates are now available to be made in Fairtrade precious metals.

Lisa Rothwell-Young’s shop and studio in Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland

Tell us about your work and approach.

I work exclusively with ethical (Fairtrade) and sustainable (recycled) precious metals, alongside responsibly sourced, traceable to mine coloured gemstones and diamonds.  I also offer my customers recycled, antique or laboratory created diamonds.  Alongside my environment inspired collections, which include engagement rings, I offer my customers bespoke designs and actively encourage them to have their existing jewellery remodelled as it’s by far the most sustainable option.

When did you become interested in Fairtrade, responsibly sourced precious metals?

Back in 2016 I became aware of the issues surrounding the mining and supply of metals, gemstones and diamonds. How people are exploited, how miners can be subject to violence or worse, how they may be working in dangerous conditions, how mining might be funding war. My first thought, (probably naively) was, how is this allowed to happen? My second thought was that I had to find another better way or I couldn’t continue to be a part of the jewellery trade.

How do Fairtrade metals align with your business’ and clients’ values?

These are my values:  I work only with ethically and sustainably sourced precious metals (Fairtrade and recycled).  I use responsibly sourced coloured gemstones and diamonds that are traceable to the mine. I also offer my customers recycled/antique and laboratory created diamonds.  My jewellery is vegan and cruelty free – no animal products are used in the workshop or in my packaging.  I actively encourage my customers to recycle their jewellery and have it remodelled.  By far the most sustainable way to have “new” jewellery is to recycle and reuse what you already have.  My packaging is recycled and compostable, I have a 100% renewable energy supplier and my water supplier builds wells in countries that don’t have access to safe water.  I think about how I make my jewellery, for instance some processes create more waste than others or are more harmful, so I choose or substitute accordingly. 

I personally believe that once you know there is a problem, you can’t ignore it.  In all aspects of my business, I aim to behave responsibly and ethically.  Behaving ethically, for me, is about more than how and where I source my gemstones and gold. I think to be ethical we also need to think about sustainability, environment, energy usage. I think about the life cycle of the things I buy for the workshop and showroom, after all there’s no such thing as throwing things “away”. 

Offering Fairtrade metals is a part of that.  My customers can pick a metal that aligns with their own values.  No mined metal is ever truly sustainable, they are after all a finite source.  That said, metals can be recycled, and recycled metals use less energy and offer a reduction in CO2 emissions. Fairtrade does good, it offers miners in parts of the world where there is little choice of how to earn a living a way to support their families and positively impact upon their community. Plus, artisanal and small-scale mining is more sustainable than huge gold mines, uses less energy and produces less CO2 and has the potential to do less environmental damage. 

Gold & White Sapphire Ring
Lisa Rothwell-Young in the studio
Lichen Engagement Ring

Who has played a key role in supporting you on your journey?

When I first started researching the problems in the industry, Ute Decker’s website was really helpful.  The information is now on the Ethical Making website.  Stuart Pool from Nineteen48 has been especially helpful and generous with his knowledge of responsibly sourcing coloured gemstones.

What challenges have you faced regarding ethical making, and what areas do you think need improved to support your ethical making journey?

At the start of my journey, I needed to spend a lot of time educating myself on the issues, then spending time sourcing and asking questions.  This information is a lot more freely available now, but I think it’s important to say that nothing is perfect, there’s still a long way to go.

In a way, the metals and gemstones/diamonds side of things were easy, it was a simple case of deciding what fitted with my ethos and communicating this to my customers.  There are lots of different definitions, for instance, to some suppliers, traceable might mean to the cutting shop rather than the mine.  You really do need to do your due diligence and then keep on top of it, make sure you’re as up to date as possible and aware of what’s happening.

Packaging for instance was particularly tricky as much of it is made in China and traditionally jewellery cases are made of many different layers of foam, boards, laminated paper, metal and wood.  They are pretty much impossible to recycle at end of life.

And then sometimes, you have to say no to customers and be prepared to nail your colours to the mast.  There are compromises to be made, sometimes there isn’t a traceable source of a particular gemstone or it might not be available in the colour or size you want and you might have to wait.  I don’t think this is necessarily a bad thing though.

Others in the industry will disagree no doubt, but I personally feel we need to get away from capitalism and consumerism. Artisan and small scale miners need to get a more equitable share of the profits from the jewellery and mining industry and as consumers, we need to buy less and concentrate on buying quality that will last.

Flow Ring
Platinum, Sapphire & Diamond Ring
Remodelled Gold & Diamond Ring

How do you think focus on Fairtrade and sustainability in practice will impact the jewellery industry over the next few years?

I think Fairtrade metal will continue to be popular with customers who want traceability, and who want to know that their purchases are doing good by supporting artisan and small scale miners and their communities.  I’d like to see Fairtrade sources of other metals, so that the metals we alloy with Fairtrade gold are also Fairtrade.

When we think about mining, it’s not just about the jewellery industry.  Metals are used in many other items, from smart phones to glasses, planes, trains and cars, in manufacturing, construction, the banking sector and so on.  We need to see responsible mining across the entire mining sector, not just precious metals and diamonds, but that will only come when consumers start asking questions about all of their purchases.  Organisations created to monitor and report on these things, such as the Kimberly Process, need to be independent of the industry.

Sustainability across all industries will increase in importance, though it will be interesting to see if the jewellery and mining industries really embrace sustainability.

Precious metals, gemstones and diamonds are a finite resource. It could be said that real sustainability would be leaving what’s in the ground where it is and reusing/recycling what’s already available. It is far more energy intensive and it produces far more CO2 to mine new metal (especially in large scale mines) than it does to recycle it.

What has been your most memorable piece working with Fairtrade metals?

I don’t have a most memorable piece, each piece of jewellery I make tends to be memorable for the people and stories behind it.  Whichever metal a customer chooses, the conversation that’s had is the important thing, each conversation raises the level of awareness around the issues of ethical and responsible sourcing.

Please share a few words with those considering Fairtrade.

I’d say do it, you don’t need to do everything at once, but begin to make changes. Sourcing is getting easier all of the time and there are lots of resources out there to help you including the ethical goldsmith’s website.