Press

The industry is looking for new ways to be more responsible with people and the environment

Today, sustainability is unquestionable, it is our key to guaranteeing Earth’s future, and its influence is being seen and felt in all sectors. Sustainability has also reached the jewelry industry, one that has not always enjoyed a stellar reputation tainted with bad practices in the extraction of minerals and often accused of lacking in respect for human rights and the environment. Fortunately, progress is being made to bring about change. “We simply can’t sell jewelry that represents a dream built on other people’s nightmares,” says José Miguel Serret, CEO of Facet Barcelona. “Consumers are well aware and are demanding ethics and responsibility, beyond the price or prestige of a brand,” he adds.

Two years ago, Human Rights Watch carried out a campaign highlighting the lack of transparency in this industry which revealed shocking data. “More than one million children still work in gold mines, and up to 35% of the toxic mercury found in the oceans comes from illegal mining,” recalls Serret.

This jewelry firm has been making strides to embrace sustainability and ethics for years. To start, they are the first to adhere to the Tracemark protocol, which traces and certifies the origin of jewelry and diamonds: “to speak about sustainability is to speak of certified and audited traceability, from the origin of its raw materials, the production process, to the end consumer”.

There are other certifications that guarantee that a piece of jewelry is ethical and sustainable, such as the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC), the global organization that sets sustainable and ethical standards for jewelry businesses and supply chains, and its CoC certification for ethically sourced and recycled gold and silver. Concerning diamonds, the Kimberley Process certifies the trade of conflict-free diamonds.

Despite the different levels of commitment and the increasing engagement of companies, Serret argues that not all that shines is gold: “Some companies look for solutions and really get involved to promote positive change, while others unfortunately never go beyond a simple marketing claim to sell products that have no real substance beyond their claims”.

Taken from the original article in Diari Ara 

Image courtesy of Tous for the article