[Jewelry making - Article 00348] - [Orchid] Gold mining and the visible hand of Orchid

[Lisa Orlando]

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    Gold mining horrors, responsive suppliers, and the visible hand of
    Orchid 

    What a mouthful. I just wanted to catch the attention of as many of 
    you as possible. 

    If you haven't read the Metalsmith article on the true price of
    gold,  you can (thank you, Hanuman) read it here: 

    http://www.ganoksin.com/borisat/nenam/the-price-of-gold.htm 

    If, however, you have a tendency towards despair or nightmares, or 
    have a weak stomach, you can skip it and just trust me when I say: 
    the price really %$^. 

    When I posted a question here about a possible price to the
    environment of the torches we use, our generous and brilliant experts
     indicated, to my relief, that the price is actually minimal. Peter
    Rowe, however, did refer to the horrors of current gold mining 
    practices as a serious issue in which many of us *are* implicated. 
    Unlike, however, those who complained about Stuller's price 
    structure, Peter only received one response (thank you, Nan)--and it 
    wasn't from Stuller. 

    This isn't a personal issue for me, the way the torch issue was,
    because I'm not working in gold now. But I did find the article
    pretty horrifying and I do believe in a kind of "professional
    activism," i.e. that we can often have the most influence if we
    focus on creating change in an area that intersects with our work.
    So, as someone who makes jewelry (but wouldn't consider calling
    herself a "jeweler") and belongs to a community of people who also
    are involved with jewelry-making, I want to encourage my community to
    use its influence regarding this issue. (Obviously, we all use other
    materials, but the Metalsmith article has shoved the gold issue
    right under our noses.) 

    You may have heard about Adam Smith's theory that capitalism
    maximizes all good things by means of its "invisible hand." Some of
    us think he really missed the boat on this one and feel compelled to
    put in our own hand, as it were. When we join hands, these hands can 
    become quite visible. And even effective. 

    The "straight skinny" thread ended abruptly when Andy Kroungold 
    indicated that he *wants* us to complain if we don't like what 
    Stuller is doing--how could he know it needs fixing otherwise? We 
    have considerable evidence that other suppliers, like Hoover and 
    Strong, respond to this forum. And Rio, led by the "Big Bells," has 
    been responsive way beyond anything most of us would expect of a 
    business. (If you want another reason to buy from Rio, go to their 
    site and check out their attitude towards their employees.) 

    I think all of us, including our suppliers, would be well advised to
     re-read Peter's post-- 

    http://www.ganoksin.com/orchid/archive/200507/msg00138.htm 

    He makes it clear that an individual supplier can't do much about 
    this horror. But I believe that, if they joined hands, and those 
    hands became visible, they could very possibly develop some
    influence  over those who mine gold. 

    And they might just do that, if Orchidians join hands and keep 
    encouraging them to do so. Maybe, together, we can make enough 
    trouble that the profit being maximized by these destructive 
    practices isn't so high anymore--that's usually how I've seen such 
    changes happen. 

    So... this may be a skillful place to focus some of our energy. Do
    we? 

Lisa Orlando
Aphrodite's Ornaments

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