With fewer than four weeks to go to the opening of the 2024 CIBJO Congress in Shanghai, China, on November 2, 2024, the eighth of the pre-congress Special Reports has been released. Prepared by the CIBJO Ethics Commission, headed by Sara Yood, the report focuses entirely on the use of “green” terminology when marketing and advertising jewellery, and the risks and dangers incurred when it is inappropriately applied.

“Greenwashing is particularly detrimental because it undermines consumer trust and misleads individuals into believing that a company is engaging in environmentally responsible practices when it is not,” writes Ms. Yood. “It is a deceptive marketing tactic that can distort competition by giving an unfair advantage to companies that falsely portray their products as sustainable, disadvantaging businesses that genuinely adhere to ethical and eco-friendly practices and carefully review advertising to ensure substantiation.”

Willful greenwashing not only undermines fair competition in the marketplace, the Ethic Commission President continues, but it also raises a possibility of legal jeopardy for companies commiting such acts. Various consumer protection agencies, including the Federal Trade Commission in the United States, as well the European Commission and national regulators in the United Kingdom have begun scrutinizing “green” claims with increasing rigour, she writes in the report.

Companies that do not substantiate their environmental claims could be subject to penalties ranging from fines to injunctions that require brands to cease advertising certain claims.

The report makes six general recommendations designed to clarify what type of terminology can be fairly used when making environmental claims in jewellery marketing campaigns, and what is required to ensure the veracity of such claims. “By promoting the development of universal definitions and advocating for stronger regulatory standards, CIBJO can help guide the jewellery industry toward a future that is not only profitable, but also is responsible and sustainable,” she states.

To download a full copy of the CIBJO Ethics Commission’s 2024 Special Report, PLEASE CLICK HERE.