Fast fashion rules the scene in 2016, gender inequality is pervasive in the business, and top labels face ongoing criticism for using subpar production methods to create their collections. Turquoise Mountain, the ethically conscious jewellery collection by designer Pippa Small, ought to be on your shopping list if these are issues that frequently cross your mind when you make decisions.
Jewelry-making was apparently outlawed in Afghanistan under the Taliban rule (which lasted from 1996 to 2001). As a result, by the time the Taliban were toppled, most of the nation’s traditional craftsmen had either left the country or had stopped working at their crafts.
Turquoise Mountain, which bills itself as “an internationally accredited vocational institute training a new generation of Afghan artisans in woodwork, calligraphy and miniature painting, ceramics, jewellery, and gem-cutting,” was subsequently founded in 2006, spearheaded by Prince Charles and the former Afghan President, with the goal of reviving these skills and providing employment opportunities for young people in a nation whose future was being torn apart by the regime.
Turquoise Mountain, which is described on its website as “an internationally accredited vocational institute training a new generation of Afghan artisans in woodwork, calligraphy and miniature painting, ceramics, jewellery, and gem-cutting,” was subsequently founded in 2006 with the help of Prince Charles and the former Afghan President in an effort to revive these crafts and provide employment opportunities for young people.
After working with the organisation since 2008, Small has finally teamed up to launch a diffusion line in Kabul that features traditional Afghan designs. The line’s profits will support the creation and maintenance of jobs in the nation’s jewellery industry, and Adwoa Aboah, a model and feminist, founder of Gurls Talk, will serve as its ambassador.
“When I was approached to be [the face of] Pippa Small’s Turquoise Mountain [collection], I didn’t even need to think about it before accepting,” Adwoa told Refinery29. “Turquoise Mountain is making a huge difference in Afghanistan. Not only does it support the arts, the economy, and the creation of jobs, but it also empowers women, a cause I am very passionate about with my Gurls Talk campaign. It is astounding to witness the work Pippa Small and Turquoise Mountain are doing to close the gender gap in Afghanistan by encouraging women to work in the workshop and support themselves while creating an exquisite line of jewellery in a world where we are still fighting for gender equality.”
