Winner of The Observer Ethical Awards Global campaigner 2011.
Maverick, pain in the arse, social entrepreneur, out of the box, radical, passionate, emotional, unmanageable, direct, to the point, breath of fresh air, rebel, visionary, scruffy, non-conformist, looks like a bum and dangerous bastard have all been used to describe Greg and his commitment to human rights, ecological responsibility and fair trade in the jewellery sector.
Greg is a fair trade jeweller with a background in human rights and environmental advocacy. He has been a pioneer and foundational to the international development and realisation of fair trade jewellery and traceable supply chains from mine to retail.
He is the founder of CRED Jewellery and co-founder of Fair Jewellery Action.
He serves on the Fairtrade & Fairmined Gold technical committee helping develop the standards for FT/FM Gold and is also an initiator and committee member of the British Jewellers Association and National Association of Goldsmiths ethics working group.
Christian Relief Education & Development
In 1991 aged 24 following trips to Tanzania and Ethiopia, he started CRED a development education network on the south coast of England. Working with young adults in schools and colleges he became a regular facilitator of young activists in the field of human rights, the environment and fair trade (economic justice for the poor).
CRED Jewellery
In 1996 Greg started CRED Jewellery the pioneering fine jewellery company. Cred Jewellery was the UK and Europe’s first jewellery company to retail fair trade green gold and platinum jewellery collections. His stated aim within the jewellery sector is;
“To make it culturally unacceptable to sell an item of jewellery that is not independently certified as socially and environmentally responsible”.
Some of the highlights of his work has been the publication in 2003 of ‘Towards an Ethical Jewellery Business’, the introduction in 2004 of fully certified green gold wedding rings to the UK in partnership with Oro Verde. In 2008 CRED Sources was established as a bullion platform for fair trade and recycled metals. In 2009 launched the worlds first high street jewellery boutique in Chichester (UK) that is fully traceable and recycled across all its jewellery collections. In September of the same year with social objectives of the business achieved he left CRED Jewellery with the aim of returning to his advocacy and campaigning roots to continue to catalyze the broader movement for certified fair trade jewellery both in the UK and internationally.
Oro Verde
After visiting this pioneering small-scale mining initiative in 2004, he continues to advocate for their groundbreaking social and environmental certification programme in the rain forests of Colombia. Oro Verde support indigenous sustainable mining methods for gold and platinum that do not use cyanide or mercury and offer 100% transparency on gold.
Gold Panner Sierra Leone
Alliance for Responsible Mining.
In 2005 alongside Catalina Cock and Ervin Renteria, he co-founder The Alliance for Responsible Mining (ARM), an international organisation seeking to lobby for small-scale mining communities around the world and he was central to developing the partnership between ARM & Fairtrade Labeling Organisation that led to the world’s first Fairtrade Fairmined standard for gold and associated precious metals.
Greenland
Illegally Confiscated Ruby Greenland
Following an invitation in 2008 by Inuit small-scale ruby miners in Greenland, he witnessed first hand the colonial marginalisation that was taking place at the hands of the Danish Government and the Canadian Mining Company True North Gems. He has been active in supporting the indigenous peoples right to mine, own, transform and sell their Ruby without fear of prosecution or marginalisation. It is still illegal in Greenland to pick up ruby and take it home.
Fair Jewellery Action
In 2010 with US ethical jeweller Marc Choyt, he co-founded FJA whose aim is to make ethically sourced jewellery the only moral choice for consumer and supplier. FJA enables jewellers and jewellery businesses to commit to transparency and traceability in the jewellery supply chain from source to product. It also acts as a voice to marginalised communities who are effected by injustices around mining as a whole.
Fairtrade Foundation UK
The Fairtrade Label
During 2010 Greg worked exclusively with the Fairtrade Foundation in London, assisting them in developing the commercial and consumer facing side of the International Fairtrade & Fairmined Gold supply chain. he continues to be an advocate and supporter of the work of Fairtrade as an expression of economic justice for the poor.
Weather Vane Project – Chichester Cathedral
Working with the Dean of Chichester Cathedral and CRED Jewellery, he was instrumental to delivering the world’s first application of Fairtrade Gold onto a public building.
Since January 2011, Greg has been working with a small miners in Africa looking to initiate Destination Fairtrade Gold in Africa. The aim of this is to embed the Fairtrade gold idea across Africa creating value chains that deliver social, environmental and economic benefits to local people.
Gold – The Movie
Starting this year with documentary film maker Christian Trumble and production company Dartmouth Films, Greg begins work on a feature length documentary movie about the International Gold Trade, the winners and losers and the impact this global nontransparent industry has on human rights, the environment and the jewellery trade.
In conclusion.
He is happily married to Ruth with two girls Mali-Grace and Jemba-May. His personal interests and practices are enjoying his Triumph Bonneville, Sea Kyacking, researching and practicing indigenous Celtic Christian spirituality and living as simple a life as is possible given his love of Indian food.
e-mail: greg@gregvalerio.com
skype: gregvalerio
Tel/fax: +44 (0)1243 783968.
Dear Sir,
I have been recommended you by Jack Ogden. I’m am doing a documentary for MA Film Making at Kingston Uni. I am a Gemmologist so I do understand the profession and the marketplace. The particular topic is ‘Exploitation in the Ruby Industry’ Would it be possible to meet with you and discuss things regarding this.
Many Thanks
Ian Plantagenet
Dear Sir,
When I read your business is interesting. I remember my father. I’m Bernard Valerio from Philippines. Now I’m working in a yacht here Barcelona, Spain. I was working in Alaska too in a cruise ship. The reason why I do interested in all your work, because before I work here as a sailor after my father passed away. My father had a jewelry making and I was working as a jewelry appraiser in his two pawnshops in our country for five years. I had experienced to attend two seminars about jewelries. I wish one day I will know more about this business like your sir. God bless… Bernard V.
I have been in touch with Mr Greg Valerio, he is a very energic person, he always think about jewellery which is socially and enviromentally responsible.
Dear Mr. Valerio,
My name is Mariella Bloom. I am communications officer at the Otro Diseño Foundation for Cultural Cooperation and Development. We are organizers of major exhibitions on the converging fields of contemporary art and design, with a strong emphasis on contemporary jewellery (such as Walking the Gray Area http://www.grayareasymposium.org/blog ). We would like to make contact with you regarding an exhibition plan of a new exhibition. I include my contact information. I would appreciate if you could get in touch with me so I can let you know about the project.
Kind regards,
Mariella Bloom
Dear Mariella,
Thank you for your enquiry. Please let me know the details of your event. I would be happy to speak at it and contribute to the ethical component. I would expect my fees and costs to be covered. Greg
Dear Mr. Valerio.
First and foremost, thank you for your effort in promoting sustainability in the mining sector. I am a Norwegian master student in the final year of my MSc in Development Management and my thesis is:
The potential and the anticipated developmental implications of including associated precious metals in the Kimberley Process Certification Scheme.
As it seems that you are highly competent in the subject, I would appreciate it if you would allow me to make an interview with you . If so, please send me details on how you prefer this to happen (Email, Skype etc.).
Best regards,
Mr. Joakim Bergan Eriksen