<\/p>\n
Rob Bates, Senior Editor — JCK-Jewelers Circular Keystone,
\nThe Council for Responsible Jewellery Practices officially released its extensive list of ethical, social, and environmental practices its members must comply with.<\/p>\n
All members of the group, now called the Responsible Jewelry Council, will be audited by third parties to verify their compliance with this code, which can be seen on the group\u2019s Web site, responsiblejewellery.com.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is obviously a very ambitious system,\u201d said RJC chairman Matthew A. Runci, who also is president and CEO of Jewelers of America. \u201cWe now transition from being a research and development organization to being an operating organization.\u201d <\/p>\n
The group also released its new logo, which can be seen with this article.<\/p>\n
Runci said that the group, now comprised mostly of big players like De Beers and Zale, will start to recruit new members, including smaller, independent jewelers. He notes it\u2019s looking at ways to reduce the cost of compliance for smaller companies.<\/p>\n
The people behind the group say \u201cgreen\u201d and related issues may not be the trade\u2019s biggest problem right now, but they cannot be ignored.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the green agenda has gained strength over the past two or three years,\u201d said Tiffany chairman Michael Kowalski, a member of the Council\u2019s board of directors. \u201cI sense a rising tide of consumer knowledge. People want to know more and the RJC will provide those assurances.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert Headley, Tiffany\u2019s vice president of technical services and chair of the RJC standards committee, added that \u201cthese issues are not in the headlines now, but they certainly could be tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAs you read the code of practices, they are all common sense,\u201d he said. \u201cThey are things like we don\u2019t offer bribes. We don\u2019t employ children. Imagine yourself not in the industry. You would say \u2018Of course.\u2019 Consumers expect retailers to do the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Runci said that being a RJC member could serve as \u201cpoint of differentiation\u201d for companies, and added: \u201cIt will also be a point of differentiation between our industry and other industries that have not been so thorough.\u201d<\/p>\n
The group\u2019s name change will be accompanied by a new logo. \u201cThe new name is just simpler and more intuitive,\u201d Runci said. \u201cWe all wish that we agreed on it two years ago. And we think the new logo will stand out better.\u201d<\/p>\n
One part of the new code, the \u201cMining Supplement,\u201d is still undergoing a public consultation process. It is expected to be finalized in March 2009. Kowalski, whose company has taken a stand against certain mining practices, admits that\u2019s because mining is one of the \u201cmost difficult\u201d segments of the industry.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I don\u2019t think these are intractable questions and we will find a way,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The group also announced Mila Bonini will be its new communications manager. Bonini previously held a senior communications role with the World Jewellery Confederation for seven years.<\/p>\n
Source: www.jckonline.com\/article<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Rob Bates, Senior Editor — JCK-Jewelers Circular Keystone, The Council for Responsible Jewellery Practices officially released its extensive list of ethical, social, and environmental practices its members must comply with. All members of the group, now called the Responsible Jewelry Council, will be audited by third parties to verify their compliance with this code, which […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[411],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n