Fairly mined, fairly traded and verified crystals with a social conscience.
Time for change.
Crystal Clear is a Community Interest Company with the primary social objective to reinvest profits back into the community, specifically to support and empower Artisanal Small Scale Miners.
2019 saw a significant rise in the popularity of healing crystals, but with out-dated and opaque supply chains it’s almost impossible to prove that these crystals have been responsibly sourced and mined. Crystal retailer, jeweller and sustainability advocate Jill Urwin, is on a mission to change this with the launch of Crystal Clear (CIC). This social enterprise will offer the world’s first verifiable and transparent mine to market crystals with a primary focus on improving the lives of artisanal mining communities around the world.
“Following a 10 year career in the fashion industry, I have seen first hand how murky and entangled out-dated supply chains can be. Unfortunately the crystal industry needs to be brought up to speed with modern sustainable practices. It’s time to shine a light on the industry and open up the dialogue so we can collectively contribute to positive change and measure our social, environmental and financial impact.”
Let’s get Crystal Clear on our goals…
Connect.
We are stronger together. The jewellery industry has a growing responsible mining movement lead by geologists, academics, gem dealers, miners themselves, NGOs and sustainability advocates. Through valuable connections to this world, Crystal Clear will work alongside pre-existing initiatives, guidelines and projects to extend the research, development and community based support to include lower grade crystals used across wellness, beauty and homeware.
Fair Trade.
To ensure all stakeholders in the crystal supply chain are fairly paid, beginning with the mining communities. This will involve educating communities and local exporters on the market value for healing crystals as well as helping communities reach the end market place with our B2B platform. Working in accordance to CRAFT guidelines, the aim is to empower ASMs in understanding and complying with market expectations and due diligence needs.
Transparency.
To trace the journey of healing crystals from mine to market and to provide customers, retailers and wholesalers with confidence in the provenance and responsible practices of their stones. Crystal supply chains are outdated and often opaque so this is not an easy task, but we must start somewhere. We are starting with an honest and frank conversation.
Teach.
New knowledge and skills are invaluable to Small Scale Mining Communities to ensure a sustainable future. Crystal Clear will reinvest funds for training in areas such as lapidary skills to add value at source, education on mineral value and demand within the wellness industry, organic farming and regenerative agriculture for future food security and income, and collaborating with other ASM mining initiatives to roll out model frameworks.
Verify.
No certification or verification currently exists for the responsible sourcing of crystals within the wellness and beauty industries. Crystal Clear standards are the first step towards changing this. All Crystal Clear stones will be working towards OECD due diligence guidelines and the CRAFT Code (which currently only cater for gold and precious gemstones). The strategic long term goal is to validate the journey of crystal batches using blockchain technology. We have already launched the first single crystal clear quartz point on blockchain.
Reinvest .
After fairly paying all stakeholders in the Crystal Clear supply chain, 100% of the profits will be reinvested back into the small-scale mining communities to make a positive and measurable social impact. By working alongside and partnering with other initiatives within the jewellery industry, our investments will be able to have a greater impact.
SDG Promise.
Our business goals are working towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals to help transform our world. The Sustainable Development Goals are a call for action by all countries – poor, rich and middle-income – to promote prosperity while protecting the planet. They recognise that ending poverty must go hand-in-hand with strategies that build economic growth and address a range of social needs including education, health, social protection, and job opportunities, while tackling climate change and environmental protection. These are the 13 goals that Crystal Clear will be contributing to:
