Marc Choyt: Author
After graduating from Brown University with a BA in English/Creating writing in 1984, Marc spent two years in Haiti as a volunteer, working in Mother Teresa’s clinics and running an orphanage. Upon his return, he spent a year in meditation retreat at a Tibetan Buddhist monastery, followed by five years of teaching English at a Native American school. He co-founded Reflective Jewelry, with his wife, Helen, in 1995. Over his twenty-two years of being a jeweler, he initiated the first ethical jewelry blog, which evolved into Fair Jewelry Action, a human rights and environmental justice network. He has been trade watchdog, freelance writer for trade magazines, campaigner for Indigenous miners' rights, and an anti-mining activist in his hometown of Santa Fe, NM where he has lived for over thirty years. Marc is currently in the final stages of a manuscript based upon indigenous principals of circle applied to business and life.
Kyle Abraham Bi: Editor/Collaborator
Kyle began his work with Reflective Jewelry in 2017, when he answered an ad for an internship with “the only certified Fairtrade Gold jeweler in the USA.” Since then, Kyle has moved through several roles — and he is now our General Manager.
Kyle’s true passion is to elevate responsible sourcing practices in the jewelry industry — a drive he shares with Marc, who has served as his mentor. He has functioned as a representative for North American jewelers to the USAID Zahabu Safi (Clean Gold) Project, has appeared as a featured speaker at the Chicago Responsible Jewelry Conference, and is a regular feature writer for Jewellery Business Magazine. He holds multiple roles with Ethical Metalsmiths: serving on their Advisory Council and Action Coalition, and as an Editor/Author for their blog The Source.
Additionally, he is an inaugural recipient of the Black in Jewelry Coalition x GIA Distance Education Scholarship, and a signatory of 2020’s BIPOC Open Letter to the jewelry industry. Kyle holds a BA from Brown University in Contemplative Studies.
Alyssa Barstow: Illustrator
Alyssa Barstow is a Philadelphia based artist with a love of visual storytelling. Her illustrative work juxtaposes whimsical fanstasy worlds against the realities of coping with the human experience.
Find her at alyssathefriend.com
Acknowledgements
My deepest gratitude to my wife, Helen Chantler, CEO and Creative Director for Reflective Jewelry. Her designing, management of our production and stalwart concern for ecology, social justice and Indigenous culture have made our company’s pioneering efforts for Fairtrade Gold and ethical sourcing possible.
Browse Helen's Skull Designs.
Additionally, I’d like to thank our staff: Cinema Jones, Michelle Tally, Gloria Apodaca, Collette Chamberlain, and our most recent addition, Lauren Inoue, who has helped with graphics. Our great team generously covered for me while I spent countless hours writing instead of being in our store.
In the summer of 2017, Kyle Abram joined us as a summer social media intern from Brown University. “I want to do something that will change the world,” he said in our initial interview. This book is his idea and I never would have written it without his support. He joined our company after his graduation this past May and has been both my editor and collaborator.
My thanks to Alan Frampton, the most important person in the global Fairtrade Gold movement. He generously read an early and nearly final version of the manuscript, providing critical feedback—and has supplied my company with Fairtrade Gold since 2015. My gratitude also Greg Valerio for his support and collaboration over many years.
Gratitude to additional readers who encouraged me along the way: Lon Weston and Dyan Oldenburg. Professor Michael Rawn suggested a radical restructuring of the work at the perfect time. Thanks also to Deirdre Galvin who generously line-edited the work. Thanks also to Carolyn Parrs, The Woman of Green, and Judy Herzl, for marketing support. And to our summer ‘18 intern, Allison Schaum (Brown University ’21) for her assistance with social media and video production.
I also want to express gratitude to local heroes who inspire my work: Doug Meiklejohn and his team at the New Mexico Environmental Law Center and Mariel Nanasi at New Energy Economy.
My thanks to those who have been industry watchdogs. In this writing, I have relied upon the work of Earthworks, Human Rights Watch, Global Witness, and the London Mining Network.
Last, my thanks to Lindsay Lovejoy Esq. who provided legal review of the document.
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**All writing and images are open source, under Creative Commons 3.0. Any reproduction of this material must back link to the landing page, here. For high resolution images for publication, contact us at expose(AT)reflectivejewelry.com.**