- A historic collaboration to protect the health of pottery-making communities, preserve craft heritage, and promote lead-free production.
- The agreement establishes a joint nationwide agenda for training, certification, outreach, and institutional strengthening.
Mexico City, December 17, 2025. — The National Fund for the Promotion of Handicrafts (FONART) and Pure Earth Mexico have signed an Interinstitutional Collaboration Agreement, marking a decisive step toward a comprehensive national strategy to eliminate lead from traditional pottery, one of the country’s main sources of lead poisoning.
This agreement lays the groundwork for a long-term joint agenda to protect public health, strengthen the production capabilities of pottery-making communities, and preserve Mexico’s cultural heritage by promoting safe, sustainable, and lead-free practices.
The partnership will support the development and implementation of technical training programs, awareness initiatives, specialized assistance, and educational materials. It will also support the creation of state-level directories of lead- free producers and businesses, with a view to their recognition and certification by the relevant authorities.
“This agreement represents a strategic convergence of cultural policy and environmental health. Protecting artisans and families who use traditional pottery is a priority that requires technical solutions, community support, and coordinated action across institutions,” said Agustín Gama Zúñiga, Executive Director of Pure Earth Mexico.
For its part, FONART, as the country’s leading institution for the promotion of handicrafts, reaffirms through this collaboration its commitment to advancing the transition to lead-free pottery by strengthening technical assistance, outreach, training, and coordination with federal, state, and municipal authorities.
The agreement also provides for annual activity schedules, the coordination of interinstitutional working groups, the monitoring of results, and the issuance of joint statements, strengthening transparency, accountability, and the public impact of these efforts.
Through this partnership, Pure Earth Mexico and FONART affirm a shared vision: to demonstrate that protecting health, strengthening local economies, and preserving cultural heritage can go hand in hand, creating development pathways that leave no one behind..
