Philippine Fashion Week: Compassionate Gold Brand Launch

Work in small-scale gold mines is extremely hazardous for children. About 19,000 children work in 45 small-scale gold mines in the Philippines, considered as one of the worst forms of child labour. Children working risk their health or even their lives to find gold in dark tunnels and mineshafts. They face the dangers of explosions, rock falls, tunnel collapse and exposure to harmful chemicals such as mercury and cyanide.

The artisanal and small-scale gold mines in the Philippines accounts for 80 per cent of gold production, which is largely unregulated. Miners often work long hours, in dangerous and poor working conditions.

In the Philippines, the ILO implements the CARING Gold Mining Project funded by the United States Department of Labor (US DOL). ILO works with BAN Toxics to reach out to mining communities in Camarines Norte and South Cotabato, and to help them transition from the informal economy.

The CARING Gold Mining Project has partnered with the Philippine Fashion Week to launch the Compassionate Gold on 26 May 2018 in Manila. The brand ensures responsible mining practices and uses methods that are not harmful to the health and the environment. The brand is certified mercury-free, child labour-free and promotes decent working conditions. It is crafted with care for the welfare of the people, the planet and mining communities.

Compassionate Gold respects international labour standards, specifically the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), the Safety and Health in Mines Convention, 1995 (No. 176), and the Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy Recommendation, 2015 (No. 204). The brand also follows national and international norms such as the Minamata Convention on Mercury and that of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

For further information please contact:

Ms Arleen Grace Taguba
Project Officer
CARING Gold Project
Tel.: +63 2 580 9900
Email