Assessing the jewelry industry’s progress on the ethical sourcing of metals
From the Executive Summary:
Consumers have little reliable assurance about the origins of their jewelry purchases.
Do they contain gold from mines that destroyed rainforests or polluted fisheries with toxic chemicals?
Did they finance violent conflict or put workers' health at risk?
Or were they produced in ways that minimized environmental harm and protected human health?
There have been several steps in the right direction in the six years since the No Dirty Gold campaign was launched. Some jewelry retailers have taken some important steps towards sourcing precious metals responsibly and pushing the mining industry to mine responsibly. By signing the No Dirty Gold campaign's Golden Rules principles for responsible sourcing of precious metals, more than 60 jewelry companies have committed to switching to cleaner gold sources when available.
This report is an evaluation of the efforts made by jewelers towards responsible sourcing of precious metals. It is based on responses to a survey sent to the jewelers that had signed on to the Golden Rules by mid-February 2009 and to other large jewelry retailers who sold jewelry worth more than $100 million.
CORRECTION (2/11): The scorecard and grade for Jostens has been corrected to reflect their signing of the Bristol Bay Protection Pledge.
For More Information:
- No Dirty Gold: Jewelry retailers
- Read the press release
- Read No Dirty Gold fact sheet on mining impacts and the jewelry industry.