The UK’s biggest jewellery retailer has refused to sign up to 12
‘golden rules’ for sourcing gold because it says that it cannot
guarantee to observe them.
Argos says that in principle it supports the rules, which were drawn up
by Oxfam America and another US-based non-governmental organization,
Earthworks, but that it is unlikely to be able to abide by them.
The catalogue-based company, which had a £4.2billion ($8.4bn) turnover
last year and 34,000 staff, sells general merchandize on the web, by
telephone and at 680 stores in the UK and Ireland. In volume terms,
Argos leads the UK retail jewellery market, which was worth £3.1bn in
2006.
The Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (Cafod), an official
overseas development and relief agency of the Catholic Church in
England and Wales, has taken up the golden rules as part of a Dirty
Gold campaign to reduce the harm caused by gold mining, and recently
criticized Argos for responding coolly to the rules, which have been
signed by other retailers such as Beaverbrooks, F. Hinds and Fraser
Hart. Argos said: ‘We’ve made it clear to Cafod that we broadly support
their aims. However, we are not prepared to sign up to a guarantee that
we are unable to substantiate. Cafod itself acknowledges that it is
difficult for jewellers to say with confidence how the gold in their
products is mined. It would be irresponsible of us to make public
promises to them that we will subsequently be unable to deliver due to
the nature of the market and supply chain.’
Argos, which is part of the Home Retail group, a FTSE 100 company, says
it prefers to follow its own code of practice and nine supply chain
principles, which it has developed to address labour and environmental
issues. However, most of the principles state only that Argos will
comply with local laws.
Helen Wolfson, Cafod’s head of campaigns, said signing up to the rules
was as much about signifying intentions as anything else. ‘As industry
leaders, Argos can send a clear message across the industry and the
supply chain that gold shouldn’t be damaging developing countries,’ she
said. Cafod is calling on thousands of its supporters to email Argos
chief executive Terry Duddy, urging the company to sign up to the rules.
It has also criticized UK-based jewellery retailer Goldsmiths for not
signing up. Goldsmiths claims that it is ‘supportive of the campaign
and ensures commitment and compliance from all suppliers’, although it
has not formally signed.
A mining industry specialist told EP:
‘Argos’s stance is not surprising. The golden rules are mainly drawn up
with the mining industry in mind, so in some ways it is asking
retailers to sign up to commitments on behalf of that industry. It
seems the campaign is trying to use retailers to put the miners under
pressure. The other problem is that the rules don’t appear to have been
devised as a result of any meaningful dialogue between the parties.
It’s pretty much a one-way process, with the retailers being told what
to do.’
Cafod claims mining the gold for one ring can create 18 tonnes of
waste, often containing acid leachates. It has also produced evidence
of people forced from their homes by mining operations.
