4-4-2018
Chopard, the brand was ranked as one of the companies that have taken few steps towards responsible sourcing policies and practices in February by the Human Rights Watch has pledged to use 100 percent ethical gold in all of its jewellery and watch collections by July during Baselworld 2018, being the first luxury jeweller to make such commitment.
Chopard president Caroline Scheufele says: “It is a bold commitment, but one that we must pursue if we are to make a difference to the lives of people who make our business possible.”
“We have been able to achieve this because more than 30 years ago, we developed a vertically integrated in-house production, and invested in mastering all crafts internally, from creating a rare in-house gold foundry as early as 1978, to the skills of high jewellery artisans and expert watchmakers.”
Chopard defines ethical gold as gold acquired from responsible sources that have been verified to meet international best practices. Chopard will procure gold from either small-scale mines in the Swiss Better Gold Association (SBGA), Fair-mined and Fairtrade schemes, or from the Responsible Jewellery Council (RJC) Chain of Custody.
Human Right Watch welcomes the announcement but indicates that it may be misleading as the standards lack human rights assessments on the ground, which means that the mined gold could still be under abusive conditions.
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