Humanium Metal is a brand of

metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...

made by melting down illegal

firearms A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originated ...

seized in conflict zones. The creation and distribution of this metal is done through a

marketing campaign Marketing is the act of acquiring, satisfying and retaining customers. It is one of the primary components of Business administration, business management and commerce. Marketing is usually conducted by the seller, typically a retailer or ma ...

called "The Humanium Metal Initiative", started in 2016 by

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

IM Swedish Development Partner. The stated objective of the program is to draw attention to issues of

gun violence Gun-related violence is violence against a person committed with the use of a firearm to inflict a gunshot wound. Gun violence may or may not be considered criminal. Criminal violence includes homicide (except when and where ruled justifiable ...

and contribute toward the ending of illegal firearms trade. Humanium Metal is used for the creation of non-lethal commodities, such as

wristwatches A watch is a timepiece carried or worn by a person. It is designed to maintain a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is worn around the wrist, attached by a watch strap or another type of ...

buttons A button is a fastener that joins two pieces of fabric together by slipping through a loop or by sliding through a buttonhole. In modern clothing and fashion design, buttons are commonly made of plastic but also may be made of metal, wood, o ...

, and

spinning top A spinning top, or simply a top, is a toy with a squat body and a sharp point at the bottom, designed to be rotation, spun on its vertical Axis of rotation, axis, balancing on the tip due to the gyroscopic effect. Once set in motion, a top will ...

s, with proceeds returning to violence prevention efforts and support for gun-violence survivors in the areas from which the firearms were seized.

History

The Humanium Metal Initiative was developed by Peter Brune of IM Swedish Development Partner in partnership with designer Johan Pihl. The objective of Humanium Metal is "to spread awareness of the devastating impact of illegal firearms and armed violence, as well as generate funds urgently needed to empower people living in conflict-torn societies." The campaign is implemented in conjunction with Swedish

advertising agencies An advertising agency, often referred to as a creative agency or an ad agency, is a business dedicated to creating, planning, and handling advertising and sometimes other forms of promotion and marketing for its clients. An ad agency is generall ...

Great Works and Akestam Holst. Humanium Metal was first produced in November 2016 in

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

, where firearms seized by the Salvadoran government were converted into one

ton Ton is any of several units of measure of mass, volume or force. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses. As a unit of mass, ''ton'' can mean: * the '' long ton'', which is * the ''tonne'', also called the ''metric ...

of metal. The project has since expanded to

Guatemala Guatemala, officially the Republic of Guatemala, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico, to the northeast by Belize, to the east by Honduras, and to the southeast by El Salvador. It is hydrologically b ...

, and, as of 2018, it plans to expand to

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Ocean at the Gulf of Fonseca, ...

and

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

. The program has received endorsements from the

Dalai Lama The Dalai Lama (, ; ) is the head of the Gelug school of Tibetan Buddhism. The term is part of the full title "Holiness Knowing Everything Vajradhara Dalai Lama" (圣识一切瓦齐尔达喇达赖喇嘛) given by Altan Khan, the first Shu ...

, former director general of the

International Atomic Energy Agency The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear technology, nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was ...

Hans Blix Hans Martin Blix (; born 28 June 1928) is a Swedish diplomat and politician for the Liberal People's Party. He was Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs (1978–1979) and later became the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Blix wa ...

, and

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

winner

Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop ...

. The program has also partnered with the

Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

. As of end of 2022, the program had destroyed more than 12,000 firearms in El Salvador, Zambia and the United States. More than US$1.2 million have already been channeled to civil society interventions in violence-affected areas.

Production and use

The most common method for producing Humanium Metal is when governments seize illegal firearms and melt down their metal, turning it into

ingots An ingot is a piece of relatively pure material, usually metal, that is cast into a shape suitable for further processing. In steelmaking, it is the first step among semi-finished casting products. Ingots usually require a second procedure of sh ...

, wire, or pellets. The metal is 95%

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

and is sent to Sweden, where they are reduced to powder that can be used in the production of metal objects. As of 2018, Humanium Metal was priced at about $6.60 per

ounce The ounce () is any of several different units of mass, weight, or volume and is derived almost unchanged from the , an Ancient Roman unit of measurement. The avoirdupois ounce (exactly ) is avoirdupois pound; this is the United States ...

. In 2018,

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

-based

watchmaker A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their par ...

TRIWA began to market

3D-printed 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, is the Manufacturing, construction of a three-dimensional object from a computer-aided design, CAD model or a digital 3D modeling, 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material i ...

with Humanium Metal. In 2019, the Humanium Metal Initiative partnered with The Non-Violence Project Foundation to produce small-scale replicas of Swedish artist

Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd (4 June 1934 – 3 May 2016) was a Swedish painter and sculptor. He studied with Fernand Léger in Paris 1951 and was a professor of painting at The Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm 1965–1969. In 1974 he was a gues ...

's 1985 sculpture ''

Non-Violence Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...

''. Other companies have produced spinning tops, buttons, and bracelets made from Humanium Metal. A Good Company has made a limited-edition A Good Humanium Metal pen, 25% of the sales of which goes to support projects tackling violent crime and rebuilding conflicted-afflicted communities in El Salvador. In 2020,

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

artist Frank To created paintings using powdered Humanium Metal mixed with paint. In December 2020, IM partnered with the

Zambia Police Service The Zambia Police Service is the organisation concerned with maintaining the rule of law in Zambia. It is under the portfolio of the Minister of Home Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of h ...

to destroy more than 6,000 firearms and turn them into Humanium Metal. In 2021, the police department of

Falmouth, Maine Falmouth ( ) is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 12,444 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area. A northern suburb of Portland, Falmouth borders Casco Bay a ...

publicly destroyed a set of illegal weapons and announced their intention to turn them into Humanium Metal.

Awards

In 2017, the Humanium Metal Initiative won the Grand Prix for Innovation at the Cannes Lions Festival for Creativity.{{Cite web, url=https://adage.com/article/agency-news/humanium-metal-initiative-takes-innovation-grand-prix/309492, title=Humanium Metal Initiative Takes Innovation Grand Prix, last=Stein, first=Lindsay, date=2017-06-20, website=AdAge, language=en, access-date=2020-01-19 In 2018, the program won the advertising category of ''

Fast Company ''Fast Company'' is an American business magazine published monthly in print and online, focusing on technology, business, and design. It releases six print issues annually. History ''Fast Company'' was founded in November 1995 by Alan Webb ...

'''s 2018 World Changing Ideas Awards.

References

External links

Humanium Metal website

Interview with Hans Blix about humanium
Metals Gun violence