RAPAPORT… The Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) will hold a press conference at Baselworld 2011 on March 23 at 2 p.m. specifically to address “Certification in the jewelry industry: Current achievements and future challenges.” Matthew Runci, RJC’s chairman, John Hall, vice chairman of the Council and Nawal Ait-Hocine, corporate responsibility director of Cartier International will address the subject matter at this event, which is schedule to take place in the “Mexico” meeting room.
RJC will also host a panel session on responsible sourcing and chain of custody at Baselworld 2011 along with Solidaridad and the Fairtrade Foundation, on Thursday March 24 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. in room “Samarkand” at the Congress Center. The panel’s goal is to make attendees aware of the efforts that each organization has been making to reach common objectives of responsible sourcing and chain of custody initiatives, as well as share stories of what members of the supply chain are doing to ensure better practices.
Speakers at the session will include Catherine Sproule, chief operations officer, RJC; Jennifer Horning, gold program coordinator, Solidaridad; and Gemma Cartwright, new products and standards development manager, Fairtrade Foundation. Runci will moderate the panel.
Michael Rae, chief executive of RJC, stated, “RJC’s mission is to promote responsible business practices in the jewelry industry, an objective shared with Solidaridad and Fairtrade Foundation. In collaboration with stakeholders, RJC is investigating the development of a voluntary chain of custody certification standard for the jewelry supply chain. We intend it to be complementary to RJC’s member certification system, which is built on the RJC Code of Practices.”
Interest from jewelry retailers and manufacturers in chain of custody has grown considerably as a result of the conflict minerals provisions of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act that were passed by U.S. Congress in 2010. Determining the origin of gold in the jewelry supply chain will be a strong focus for companies affected by the Dodd-Frank Act, under rules to be published by the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 15, 2011. The RJC aims to develop its chain of custody certification standard to support companies seeking to apply greater due diligence in the supply chain, whether for Dodd-Frank compliance or as part of a broader company strategy.
“We are thus delighted to co-convene this Panel with Solidaridad and Fairtrade Foundation to brief the industry on these important issues,” Rae added.