Who made my jewellery?
“Fashion is an important power of which our society should take account. It can evoke emotions, provoke, guide, fascinate."
This is how the Fashion Revolution presentation began, a movement founded after the tragic date of 24th April 2013,the day on which 1133 people died when the Rana Plaza factory building collapsed in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
This international movement involves young designers, volunteers, celebrities, activists and fashion and accessory brands who believe in an industry that respects people, the environment, creativity and profit in equal measure. Using the power of the fashion industry to catalyze change, Fashion Revolution aims at giving back the right dignity to the production chain. It is the first step towards becoming aware of what buying an item of clothing, design or jewellery entails, a step towards a more ethical and sustainable future for the fashion industry, one that respects people and the environment, as Marina Spadafora, coordinator of Fashion Day in Italy, affirms.
“Choosing what we buy can create the world we want: we all have the power to change things for the better and any time is good to start doing it.”
A great event (held in Italy from 23rd to 29th April last) in the presence of many illustrious personalities, such as maestro Bernardo Bertolucci, musician Saturnino Celani, artist/actress Domiziana Giordano, actor and director Giampiero Judica, tenor Noah Stewart, filmmaker Jordan Stone who, allowing themselves to be photographed with their clothes on back to front, have adhered to the Fashion Revolution Day over the years.
This revolution has recently affected the jewellery world too, a form of art and beauty with an ancient tradition and history, which, now more than ever, is paying attention to sustainability and ethics.
Besides the numerous signs of support for the “Who Made My Jewellery” initiative, another movement has been set up known as Fairtrade, which supports its members by stimulating the creativity that a positive and collective change in the sector can lead to. In fact, with Fairtrade, the quality, sustainability and ethics regarding the metal used by jewellery brands is transparent and certified.
The registration process to become a Gold Fairtrade licensee is simple and already numerous refining companies have registered, offering an ever increasing number of Fairtrade products and components and the recent launching of the Goldsmiths Registration Scheme has made it even easier to participate, whatever the production capacity may be.
Another advantage to registering is brand recognition, an intelligible logo that reassures people and transparently tells the customer about the item's system of origin.
And so Fashion Revolution welcomes jewellers and encourages them to ask "Who made my jewellery?"
