About and governance
A new body should be plain about how small it is, who decides things, and where its money comes from. This page is that.
Why now
The trade's account of its own value has been coming apart for a decade, and the arrival of grown stones finished the job. A great many jewellers already work carefully, source thoughtfully and pay properly, and have no way of saying so that does not sound like marketing.
What is missing is somewhere to state a position in public, in your own name, alongside other people doing the same. That is what this association is for.
How it is run today
The Sustainable Jewellers Association was founded in 2026 by Jack Li, who currently makes its decisions. There is no board, no committee and no elected officer, and the association is not going to imply otherwise while the founding cohort is still being formed.
We are stating this plainly because the fourth commitment in the Code asks members not to borrow standing they have not earned. An association that opened by describing a governance structure it did not have would be breaking its own Code on day one.
How governance will change
These are undertakings about the association, not aspirations for it:
Members will elect the people who run it. Once the founding cohort is seated, governance moves to elected representation drawn from the membership.
No seat will be purchasable. No level of contribution will buy influence over the Code, over admissions, or over who speaks for the association.
The Code will not change quietly. Any change goes to every signatory in advance, and the previous version stays published with the date it was replaced. Members who do not wish to sign a revised Code keep their record of having signed the earlier one.
How it is funded
The association is funded at present by its founder, and will be funded by member contributions as the membership grows. It takes no money from any organisation whose conduct it would then have to describe.
Because the association makes no assessment of anyone, there is nothing here that money could buy: no rating to lift, no finding to soften, no place in a queue. If the association ever takes on a role where that stops being true, it will publish the relationship before taking on the role, not after.
What we do not do
We do not inspect members. We do not visit premises, examine books, test materials or trace supply chains, and we make no finding about any member's conduct. We issue no mark, badge or seal for members to display in a window or on a website.
What we hold is a public record of who signed the Code and when. Anyone is free to weigh that for exactly what it is worth.
Contact
Written enquiries reach us fastest.