Hirose team up with Fairphone to integrate fairtrade gold

Japanese connector manufacturer, Hirose Electric, has partnered with Fairphone, a Dutch manufacturer of environmentally friendly and ethical smartphones. Through the connector products supplied to Fairphone, Hirose will support ethical trade in gold and support the supply chain for sustainable smartphone manufacturing. Fairtrade is the leading certification and ethical solution for gold, widely recognised for improving conditions for miners, tackling unfair pay, dangerous working conditions, and environmental protection. Fairtrade gold is sourced from 15 mines in Peru, all of which meet the Fairtrade Standard for Gold and Precious Metals and are audited on a regular audit cycle to ensure compliance with the Fairtrade Standards. Hirose and Fairphone investigated how they could increase the amount of responsible gold in the Dutch company's products. Hirose was able to integrate more Fairtrade gold into the Fairphone supply chain, which is an important step towards increasing responsible gold in the electronics sector. Due to this collaboration, Fairphone's finished product will have increased Fairtrade gold volume and an equivalent amount of Fairtrade Premium will be paid to support gold the miners and their communities in Peru mines.