CIBJO’s Supply Chain Nomenclature Committee has presented to participants in the 2024 congress in Shanghai its project to standardise jewellery supply chain nomenclature. The formation of the committee was already discussed before the outbreak of COVID, but over past two years has met regularly to develop a lexicon of agrred to terms used to describe produccts, sources and processes in the jewellery supply chain.

The presentation was delivered by the chair of this committee, Feriel Zerouki, Senior Vice-President of the De Beers Group, and her colleague, Purvi Shah, Head of Ethical and Sustainable Value Chains at De Beers, who also is the coordinator of the body. They outlined progress made so far.

Nomenclature used in business claims around responsible and ethical business practices, such as terms describing origin, source and provenance are being looked at by the committee. Furthermore new consumer protection legislation is expected to emerge in the coming years, and so having the right nomenclature to make business claims along the jewellery supply chain is critical.

Ms Raluca Anghel, head of external affairs and industry relations at the Natural Diamond Council (NDC), referred to the EU due diligence directive, which requires accurate reporting of value chains, such as environmental claims, in order to empower consumers.

“Nature’s friend”, “eco-friendly” and “environmentally friendly”, are examples of frowned-upon expressions, she said.

“Using the right language is paramount,” Ms Anghel told the CIBJO Congress. “Once adopted, let’s all unite behind these terms. Let’s ensure that the fairness in our industry is brought to consumers.”

Sara Yood, CEO and General Counsel of the New York-based Jewelers Vigilance Committee (JVC), who also is Prersident of CIBJO’s Ethics Commission, spoke of the U.S. experience, including the Federal Trade Commission’s remit, such as the so-called “Green Guides” which are under revision now.

JVC has delivered a written response to the FTC and expects it to take action before the end of 2024, regardless of the result of the November 5 U.S. presidential election.

JVC will read that guidance pertaining to jewellery before consulting CIBJO for feedback.

“We will send letters to (JVC) members who violate the guides,” Ms Yood said, referring to how JVC will act when the nomenclature has been agreed.

Ms Zerouki said consumer focus groups would ultimately dictate the nomenclature of industry standards that will be used across the jewellery industry.