21.03.2025 Once again, the Forum for Responsible Gold was represented with a booth at this year’s Inhorgenta, Germany's largest jewellery fair

About half of the gold mined worldwide is used in the jewellery industry. Nevertheless, there is still little awareness in Germany of the conditions in the gold mining sector and the social and environmental risks involved. The Forum for Responsible Gold aims to raise awareness of the challenges of gold mining and provide information on the responsible design of gold supply chains. In this way, the Forum also aims to increase the demand for and supply of “fair” jewellery and contribute to improving the living and working conditions of people working in gold mining.

This year, the Forum for Responsible Gold was once again represented with a booth at Inhorgenta, Germany's largest jewellery fair. On all four days of the fair, the Forum was able to inform numerous interested actors from the jewellery industry about responsible gold mining and its benefits. By means of a presentation on the positive impact of responsible gold, examples of good practice could be presented in a comprehensible and convincing manner.

The complementary cooperation of the Forum’s booth with Fairever’s booth was a great benefit to the information on offer. On the one hand, the Forum's booth with the representation of Fairmined and Fairtrade, two of the largest certification initiatives in the gold sector, allowed an comprehensive overview of the technical backgroungs and practice of certification on mining level. On the other hand, Fairever being Germany’s most important trader of responsible gold, informed interested jewellers about their options for sourcing responsible gold, specifically.

The joint presence of ARM/Fairmined and Fairtrade at the Forum‘s was a further milestone. Both certification schemes are very similar and some mines are even certified according to both standards. The consultation on the different licensing options provided by Fairmined and Fairtrade should make it easier for many jewelry makers to start using responsible gold: The priority is not which of the two initiatives is “better”, but which licensing model is more suitable for their business. It is also positive to note that the joint presence helped to reduce the impression of competition between the two initiatives. It was the first joint marketing appearance of both initiatives in Germany since the end of the initial partnership in 2013.

Furthermore, the official launch of the Forum's very own website (External link) market a special highlight at the fair.

Through its presence at Inhorgenta, the Forum for Responsible Gold was able to recruit numerous new members.

Meanwhile, the Forum Responsible Gold has become the port of call for questions around the responsible sourcing and trade of gold in Germany. The Forum is coordinated by the Sector Programme Extractives and Development at the Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe, BGR), commissioned by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung, BMZ).