GreenKarat® got some third-party certification of its recycled content to prove how green they really are. While there are companies saying this is what they do, this first third-party certification of a jewelry retailer is huge.
Eco-friendly wedding and engagement rings have grown in popularity. Oxfam has a No Dirty Gold educate regarding the environmental impact of gold mining.
In an effort to appeal to the green living guy, the jewelry industry has got a little green washing going on here with regard to recycled content.
“The jewelry industry is starting a slow turn toward environmental responsibility,” said Matthew White, President of greenKarat . “We are proud to be in the lead on that effort.”
The problem is that the term ‘recycled’ is not regulated in the jewelry industry in the same way ‘organic’ is labeled in the food industry.
The US Federal Trade Commission and International Organization for Standardization (ISO) have issued voluntary standards for environmental marketing claims, but we know how that goes!!!
So recognize that the greenKarat third–party certification also discloses the recycled and postconsumer portion of the piece you want to buy.
From my conversation with people in the diamond district and others, it is pretty clear that the jewelry industry has been slow to adopt that disclosure standard.
According to greenKarat’s certification, it confirms that the gold used is 100% post-consumer recycled.
