Would You Pay More For Fair Trade Gold?

[Joe]

Am I missing something here? So, you would actually rather support the poverty and the damage to the environment by bying the 'dirty gold'?

"Would you rather"... reductionist questions are the grist of marketing companies and politicians. Whenever I hear that sort of question, I imagine Peter Mandelson setting it to get the right vibe.

Not one child fewer will die in Bolivia if every single gram of gold sold in the UK is tagged as responsibly sourced. But fewer cameras will record those deaths.

If you have energy for change, focus it where it will cause change, don't allow it to be used to ease the consciences of those that can make changes.

Fairtrade coffee, organic food, free-range eggs... these are marketing ideas taking the place of social reform in the sight of the masses. Don't let our industry go there.