|
|
| Строка 1: |
Строка 1: |
| − | INTERVIEW WITH THE FOUNDER OF BASHFORD JEWELLERY
| |
| | | | |
| − | Meet Mildred Stephens, A third-generation jeweler, Mildred was born
| |
| − | and raised in the Philippines. Her parents immigrated to the United States
| |
| − | in search of greater opportunity, leaving Mildred and her brother behind
| |
| − | with a grandparent. When everything was in order she came to America,
| |
| − | her parents strong work ethic in hand determined to take full advantage
| |
| − | of the opportunities, to live the American dream.
| |
| − | Mildred’s experiences left her focused on family, community,
| |
| − | environment and opportunity -- values that underpinned the founding of
| |
| − | Bashford Jewelry in 2013. Today, Mildred oversees operations at
| |
| − | Bashford from her base in Seattle. She picks her craftsmen as carefully as
| |
| − | she does her gemstones. She recognizes that the path to a growing
| |
| − | business is paved with sustainability, quality components, equal parts
| |
| − | craftsmanship and artistry, and unsurpassed service from first click to
| |
| − | delivery.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | How retailers and consumers evaluate different ethical products
| |
| − | I believe that our ethics come from the influences that shaped us in our
| |
| − | lives. I grew up in a household for which the jewelry industry was always
| |
| − | a part of our lives. So, I have always heard the stories about blood
| |
| − | diamonds as well as the issues faced with child labor, poorly paid workers
| |
| − | and horrible working conditions.
| |
| − | As I got into the industry myself, I also started to focus on ethically
| |
| − | conscious supplies for my jewelry. I couldn’t reconcile the Kimberly
| |
| − | Process because it only focused on whether the sale of diamonds was
| |
| − | fueling wars. We focus on more than what is considered conflict
| |
| − | diamonds by the Kimberly Process. We are concerned about the human
| |
| − | rights abuses and environmental degradation. And this is in part due to
| |
| − | my upbringing but also because of who I am as a person today and the
| |
| − | legacy I want to leave behind.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | Some retailers will focus on ethically made vs ethically sourced because
| |
| − | this allows for greater flexibility in where diamonds come from.
| |
| − | In my estimation, for some consumers, ‘ethical jewelry’ is trendy and
| |
| − | social media and marketing has made this so. So, even if they are not
| |
| − | actually interested in ethical gems and precious stones, to be able to say
| |
| − | that their jewelry was ethically-sourced is a talking point.
| |
| − | On the other hand, there are people who are genuinely interested in
| |
| − | where their diamonds come from and the process by which they were
| |
| − | mined. We want to appeal to both those demographic and educate those
| |
| − | who are not aware of the issues in the industry.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | “Ethical havens” – productions sites favored for their ethical credentials
| |
| − | – are formed and challenged over time
| |
| − | I think ethical havens sprang up because of the limitations of the Kimberly
| |
| − | Process. There were reports of conflict diamonds making their way into
| |
| − | the general market and so companies saw a way to make their brand
| |
| − | stand out from the rest.
| |
| − | Marketing of Canada as the ‘ethical haven’ for sourcing diamonds did play
| |
| − | a role in our decision to take our diamonds only from Canada at this time.
| |
| − | We were worried about the reported conflicts between local Canadian
| |
| − | indigenous groups and the diamond companies. But, we liked the fact
| |
| − | that the oversight and regulatory bodies are independent, and that the
| |
| − | companies are required to restore the environment when a mine is
| |
| − | closed. And that there are processes in place to track and trace a
| |
| − | diamond from mine to retail.
| |
| − | I think this in part allows ethical havens to continue because they have
| |
| − | set up the necessary structures to give people what they want – peace of
| |
| − | mind that they can trace the origins of their diamonds. This is something
| |
| − | the Kimberly Process has seriously fallen short of over the years and
| |
| − | which has led to the negative stigma with African based diamonds.
| |
| − | I also understand why such havens are being challenged because they
| |
| − | seem to exclude other markets, especially those that have suffered with
| |
| − |
| |
| − | conflicts diamonds. This is also part of the reason to support genuine
| |
| − | initiatives aimed at restoring credibility to the markets and developing
| |
| − | sustainable production.
| |
| − | Types of ethical considerations that go in retailers and consumers’
| |
| − | evaluations
| |
| − | Not all consumers are interested in the nitty gritty of ethical
| |
| − | consumerism. They are ok with hearing that a company is keeping them
| |
| − | safe from tarnishing their product. So, we take the responsibility seriously
| |
| − | to allow them that peace of mind.
| |
| − | I believe that the feeling of wanting to do no harm also influences
| |
| − | consumers’ choices. And they make these decisions based on the
| |
| − | knowledge available to them. They may want to voluntarily participate in
| |
| − | making what they consider the right choice and doing something good in
| |
| − | the world, even if it is simply knowing that part of a sale goes towards
| |
| − | benefiting a worthy cause. This is something that a lot of corporations
| |
| − | have embraced. Consumers may not voluntarily give but they will readily
| |
| − | support a company that does.
| |
| − | For retailers, it can be a little different. Profit, unfortunately, plays a part
| |
| − | in some of those brands that market themselves as ethical. For others,
| |
| − | especially those that are not part of large chains, it is based on the
| |
| − | owners’ personal ethical standards. And these are the companies that
| |
| − | pay more attention to the ethical sourcing and processing of diamonds.
| |
| − | Part of the reason for choosing Canadian diamonds is that ethically
| |
| − | conscious consumers already know about them and are predisposed to
| |
| − | them already. And most of all we are satisfied with their local processes.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | The organizations and sources of information that are influential
| |
| − | The companies themselves in the industry are quite influential. They are
| |
| − | providing the information about what is happening to consumers and can
| |
| − | influence the most. Organizations that are working to make a difference
| |
| − | are often limited in scope and budget. And because most are non-profit,
| |
| − |
| |
| − | it becomes difficult for them to show the world what they are doing and
| |
| − | to influence change on a macro level.
| |
| − | Therefore, it is left to the retailers to market the industry and influence
| |
| − | people’s perception over time.
| |
| − | How ethical orientations may be influenced and change over time
| |
| − | Look at the current situation with Leonardo DiCaprio and his ethically lab
| |
| − | created diamonds. As an influential actor promoting this type of diamond
| |
| − | business, he is in a position to influence the ethical orientations of this
| |
| − | generation, same as he did in his movie on blood diamonds.
| |
| − | So, the types of persons leading or who are at the forefront of shifts
| |
| − | greatly influence the process.
| |
| − | A large influencer would be needed to help transform the perception of
| |
| − | the situation in for example Africa where the Diamond Development
| |
| − | Imitative is working towards building sustainable and ethical diamond
| |
| − | practices. With their work, eventually it will be easier to shift the negative
| |
| − | stigma of all African diamonds as unethically produced but it will take
| |
| − | time to make an impact.
| |
| − | Public policy debates on ethical market access and outcomes for
| |
| − | countries and firms alike
| |
| − | Canada is a prime example of public policy debate affecting ethical
| |
| − | market access and making a positive contribution to the industry. With
| |
| − | independent oversight, governance issues can be addressed to develop
| |
| − | and maintain relevant standards in an industry. It may not be supported
| |
| − | by all, but the human rights and environmental issues are being
| |
| − | addressed.
| |
| − | Within the African region, the Kimberley Process is working to build those
| |
| − | countries that have been negatively affected with conflict diamonds. But
| |
| − | governance still poses a challenge as well as enforcement and
| |
| − | transparent processes. Public policy debates can highlight the issues and
| |
| − | provide ideas to help. [https://bashfordjewelry.com Conflict Free Diamonds] But without the resources and the people
| |
| − | dedicated to carrying out the changes, we will always have new ideas for
| |
| − |
| |
| − | ethical diamonds and sources of ethical diamonds to contemplate with
| |
| − | while the rest of the industry continues to suffer through the atrocities.
| |
| − | How do countries/individuals gain ethical consumer’s and retailers’
| |
| − | trust and allegiance
| |
| − | Marketing plays an important role in first bringing the consumer/retailer
| |
| − | in the know and then working to gain trust. It is about letting the
| |
| − | consumer/retailer know what is happening and what changes have been
| |
| − | made and processes put in place to ensure that their standards are
| |
| − | maintained or improved.
| |
| − | Canada came into the picture as an ‘ethical source’ because of the
| |
| − | international outrage over blood diamonds in developing countries. And
| |
| − | they’ve managed to maintain their hold not only because of their
| |
| − | marketing and continued oversight of their processes, but because of the
| |
| − | continued issues in the rest of the world. The problems with the Kimberly
| |
| − | Process are much publicized and so cannot positively influence
| |
| − | consumers on the benefits of taking diamonds from the African
| |
| − | continent. It is as if the KP is its own worst enemy.
| |
| − | As a diamond retailer, we work to gain the trust and loyalty of our
| |
| − | consumers by providing quality products and being socially responsible.
| |
| − | Because our brand is built on being a responsible company, we have to
| |
| − | work hard to show that we are taking steps to contribute to the industry
| |
| − | and trying to make a difference. Our buyers respond to this and so it
| |
| − | becomes an ongoing effort to keep improving our contributions to the
| |
| − | industry and maintaining ethical practices ourselves.
| |
| − | Why Bashford was founded on ethical sourcing and philanthropy
| |
| − | When we were looking at ways to become a socially responsible
| |
| − | company, we thought about allowing consumers to choose the area that
| |
| − | they would prefer to donate to, and it would range from a variety of
| |
| − | topics and industries from clean water, to replacing forests. But we
| |
| − | market as an ethical based company in a conflict-ridden industry and
| |
| − | realized that would not help to make a difference in the industry. Instead,
| |
| − | we chose to support the Diamond Development Initiative.
| |
| − |
| |
| − | It is our hope that over time, with true support and proper regulatory
| |
| − | practices, the taint of blood diamonds will be removed from developing
| |
| − | countries and they are able to supply diamonds that do not fuel conflicts,
| |
| − | and are sourced in a way that benefits the people who mine these gems
| |
| − | and the environment.
| |
| − | The movie Blood Diamond, while bringing attention to the issues, have
| |
| − | also caused a negative connotation to be assigned to diamonds
| |
| − | originating from Africa. We hope that with the DDI, things will change
| |
| − | eventually and there are more options for consumers to identify with
| |
| − | ‘ethical’ diamonds.
| |
| − | Your perspective on the ethical diamond market
| |
| − | The concept of what constitutes an ethical diamond market has been
| |
| − | evolving. Consumers are bombarded with a good deal of different
| |
| − | information and each idea of ‘ethical’ is being marketed as being better
| |
| − | than the other.
| |
| − | Synthetic and lab grown diamond engagement rings want to prove that
| |
| − | they are the most ethical diamond sources and are trying to influence
| |
| − | thought away from natural diamonds. This gives no thought to the
| |
| − | millions who can potentially lose their livelihood. We are also moving
| |
| − | away from only focusing on war-fueled diamonds as the conflict regions
| |
| − | are reduced to the things that I consider to also matter more – human
| |
| − | rights abuses and environmental issues. It’s not perfect, but if each does
| |
| − | what she or he can do to make a difference then we can at least make it
| |
| − | better for those who suffer the most in this industry.
| |
| − | It is a competitive industry with large producers pitted against small
| |
| − | artisanal miners. And the winners will be those that can influence and
| |
| − | appeal to consumers’ ideas of what is their ethical considerations.
| |
| − | Ours are based on our past, family history and what I’ve seen and
| |
| − | researched over the years. And that is what continues to guide our
| |
| − | operations.
| |
