Introducing Just Trade x Oliver Bonas

Just Trade is a design-led jewellery and accessories brand that works in partnership with small Fair-Trade projects around the world, built around the interests of the people who make the products. Founded by jewellery designer Laura in 2006, Just Trade works in collaboration with small craft collectives and women’s cooperatives in rural communities in Peru, Ecuador, India, Indonesia and Vietnam to create handmade jewellery and accessories while providing training and fairly paid work.

Just Trade's system prioritises producers, communities and the environment, selecting materials that are locally sourced and environmentally sound where possible and ensuring that recycling and waste management are part of the supply chain. ‘We provide vocational training, life-skills and whole-person care,’ explains Laura, ‘and we are committed to sustainable sourcing and production processes which minimise environmental impact.’

Many of the Just Trade team are graduates from the School of Jewellery in Birmingham, and they work in partnership with Hope Jewellery in Lima, Peru, and Flowering Desert in Tamil Nadu, Southern India, as well as Eko Cahyono and his team of artisans in Wonosalam in East Java. Just Trade has been providing the projects with training in jewellery-making techniques for over 15 years.

In 2010, Grace and Lottie, two design graduates working with Just Trade, visited the Flowering Desert project in Southern India, where they found seven women all trained in tailoring but struggling to work due to an unpredictable power supply. They trained the women in traditional jewellery-making techniques such as beading, polishing and hammering. As the techniques used hand tools, they didn’t need to rely on an electricity source.

The Flowering Desert women work in a safe and supportive environment. They are given free transportation to work, counselling, healthcare, advice on money management and help with educating their children. Several of the women on the project live in a safe house on site, which is a refuge for vulnerable women and children. The rest come from the surrounding rural community where work opportunities are limited.

The training and fairly paid work at Flowering Desert provide a way for the women to upskill and secure future employment. The project started with a handful of women and now provides regular work for 25, helping to equip the women to improve the quality of their lives.

Just Trade has been working with the Hope Jewellery project since 2006, when Laura was invited to visit them in Lima, Peru. Over the last 18 years, Just Trade has provided the project with part-time, fairly paid work that helps the women balance childcare and work more easily, making a significant difference to their household incomes and enabling them to have more time with their families.

Several of the women working with Hope Jewellery already had crochet skills when Laura first visited them, and Just Trade has provided further training in jewellery making techniques. This has given the artisans the confidence to design and make their own products. They have also worked on capacity building and have developed dozens of commercially successful ranges. The project is now based in four areas of Peru, and Just Trade now provides regular work for more than 40 women.

Elizabeth and Diana are sisters in law from the Hope Jewellery project and worked together on product development for the Oliver Bonas collection. Diana focused on the metal work, while Elizabeth is the expert in crochet, and they were keen to develop a range that showcased their individual skills. Between them the sisters in law have five children, and the earnings received from the jewellery collaboration have paid for school uniforms, books and supplies.

In 2019, through the Making Links Project, Just Trade connected with Eko Cahyono, a master metalsmith who began his career in 1992 as an apprentice in a small factory in Mojosari, East Java. The project introduces artisan makers to design thinking and fosters collaborative environments underpinned by fair-trade principles. The first workshop lasted a week and brought together jewellery makers and a group of artisans who make beads from recycled waste glass.

Impressed by his commitment to excellence and inclusivity, as well as his patience and willingness to share knowledge and experience, Just Trade embarked on a long-term collaboration with Eko and the bead-making artisans. Today, together with his growing team, Eko uses traditional jewellery making techniques passed down through generations to craft beautiful, wearable pieces. Endlessly resourceful, he is always looking for ways to increase efficiency and sustainability, even designing and making many of his own tools.

Working alongside Lucas, who was also present at the original workshop, Eko and his team created a simple and striking sterling silver Oliver Bonas collection that was inspired by celestial themes. Grateful for the opportunities he received early on, Eko is committed to offering fairly paid work and training to young people entering the trade, earning himself a reputation for his dedication to nurturing the next generation of craftspeople.

Fair trade is about better prices, decent working conditions and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers. It’s about supporting the development of thriving worker communities so that they can have more control over their futures and protect the environment in which they live and work.

As a guaranteed member of the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO) and a member of BAFTS Fair Trade Network UK (BAFTS), Just Trade contributes towards fundamental changes in the status of craftspeople in the Global South through Fair-Trade retailing and campaigning.