Pure Earth Partners With Narcos Star Taliana Vargas and Over 30 Designers on Jewelry Collection To Fight Pollution
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New York, NY, April 10, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
Pure Earth, a
nonprofit leader in global pollution cleanup, is partnering
with Colombian actress, model and philanthropist
Taliana Vargas (recently seen in Netflix’s
Narcos), and over 30 leading
jewelry designers on a special collection of
jewelry crafted using responsibly-sourced materials,
especially mercury-free gold.
The collection, launched by Vargas, is now open for bidding
online. Vargas will close the auction in person
at the Pure Earth Benefit Bash in New
York City on April 23. Funds raised will support Pure
Earth’s work around the world, including efforts to break the
toxic link between gold and mercury in artisanal mining
communities.
“Not many people realize that the beautiful jewelry we wear
or has been passed down to us may be linked to mercury
poisoning. We don’t see how artisanal miners in Colombia and
elsewhere around the world use toxic mercury to extract tiny
grains of gold, poisoning miners, their families, children,
and the environment we all share,” says Vargas.
“I am so grateful to my friends in the industry, including
Pili Restrepo, who brought me onto this wonderful project,
and all the participating designers for creating beautiful
pieces with gold sourced in responsible ways. Join us to make
a statement and a difference in a beautiful way.”
Featured designers include Pure Gold Award honoree
Pili Restrepo and other leading brands
including: Aesa Jewelry, Ana Katarina, Anna Sheffield
Jewelry, Arabel Lebrusan, Ariane Zurcher, Bario Neal,
Brilliant Earth, Casa Collab, Chandally, Christina Malle, CVC
Stones, Dana Bronfman, David Yurman, Eliza Page, Emily
Chelsea Jewelry, Grace Lee, Hi June Parker Jewelry, Kali
Hawk, Melissa Joy Manning, Merzatta, Mociun, Pamela Love,
Patty Freud, Richline, Scosha, Shamballa Jewels, Spinelli
Kilcolin, Taber Studios, Toby Pomeroy, Ursa Major, Vrai &
Oro, and Wwake.
Participating designers created their pieces
using responsibly sourced gold and gems, including Fairmined
gold donated by gold refinery Hoover and
Strong, above ground diamonds donated by
Diamond Foundry, and post-consumer gems
donated by Perpetuum Jewels.
This is the 3rd responsible jewelry collection
curated by Pure Earth. Last year’s collection was introduced
by modeling sensation Molly Bair. The new collection
featuring Vargas in clothing by Stella
McCartney, was photographed by Karla Ticas at
CINCstudios in Los Angeles.
“This year’s collection is especially important because the
landmark Lancet Commission report confirmed that pollution is
the largest environmental cause of death and disease in the
world today,” says Richard Fuller, Pure
Earth President and Co-chair of The Lancet Commission on
Pollution and Health.
The findings, released by the Commission last
October, conclude that of the 9 million deaths linked to
pollution every year, 92% of those occur in low- and
middle-income countries. Many poor people turn to informal
gold mining using toxic mercury as a response to
poverty.
“The world is just waking up to pollution’s terrible toll.
We’ve presented the findings of the report everywhere, from
the World Economic Forum in Davos to the World Bank in D.C.,
and the response has been strong. It’s a fact that pollution
is all around us, no matter where we live. We just have to
take notice and do something. Everyone must be involved, from
world leaders to the everyday consumer,” urges Fuller.
Where Does Your Gold Come From?
Artisanal and small-scale gold mining is the
leading cause of mercury pollution in the world, accounting
for over 30% of global emissions, making it one of the
world’s worst pollution problems.
About 10% to 25% of the world’s total gold supply comes from
artisanal gold mining. Pure Earth has identified mercury as
one of the top six toxic threats globally.
Pure Earth’s work with advocates such as Taliana Vargas and
the jewelry industry is beginning to raise much-needed
awareness about the toxic link between gold and
mercury.
The works in the Pure Earth collection make a statement about
the power of the industry to educate and inspire consumers to
demand responsibly-sourced jewelry, and to ask, “Where does
my gold come from?”
Increasing demand for mercury-free gold will help more
artisanal miners to go mercury free, ensuring their
livelihoods while reducing mercury pollution, and preventing
mercury poisoning.
The High Price of Gold
Artisanal gold miners work in dangerous conditions to earn a
meager living. To help them extract small grains of gold from
ore, miners add mercury, which binds with the gold to form an
amalgam. When burned, the toxic mercury evaporates into the
atmosphere, leaving behind gold.
Artisanal miners (including some 4.5 million women and
600,000 children) and their families are often the first to
suffer from mercury poisoning, but everyone is threatened
because mercury travels far and wide, dropping into oceans
and rivers, poisoning seafood we all consume.
Today, an estimated 19 million people are at risk of mercury
poisoning. Children and pregnant women are especially
vulnerable. Mercury attacks the central nervous system and
many organs. It passes through the placenta and travels into
developing fetus, causing birth defects and brain
damage.
What Is Being Done?
On the ground, Pure Earth has been working to
reduce and prevent toxic mercury pollution in artisanal gold
mining communities through South America and Southeast Asia.
Pure Earth conducts workshops to raise awareness among miners
and their families about the dangers of mercury. We train
miners in mercury-free mining techniques, and work with local
governments to scale up sustainable mining practices.
Currently, Pure Earth’s team in Peru is restoring an
ecologically devastated region of Madre de Dios, which Pope
Francis recently visited to call attention to the crisis. As
the first group to use methods developed by The Centro de
Innovación Científica Amazónica (CINCIA), Pure Earth is
replanting a 9-acre area of the jungle destroyed by
mining.
Read this in SPANISH
About Pure Earth (formerly
Blacksmith Institute) – www.pureearth.org
Pure Earth’s mission is to identify and clean up the poorest
communities throughout the developing world where high
concentrations of toxins have devastating health effects.
Pure Earth devises cleanup strategies, empowers local
champions, and secures support from national and
international partnerships. Interventions to mitigate these
toxic exposures while protecting livelihoods have proven to
be manageable, cost-effective, and eminently do-able. By
partnering with and empowering local champions, Pure Earth
cleans up chemical and waste legacy toxic hotspots, prevents
re-contamination and guards against future pollution.
Attachments
- Taliana Vargas for Pure Earth responsible collection (Pili Restrepo)
- Taliana Vargas for Pure Earth resposible collection (red)
Magdalene Sim Pure Earth 2128703490 mag@pureearth.org
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