BLOG – Why CIBJO matters
By David Brough
BANGKOK, November 8, 2017 – The World Jewellery Confederation (CIBJO) is now playing an increasingly vital role as it charts a course for high universal ethical standards upon which the industry’s survival will ultimately depend.
Without its guidelines to ensure that workers and consumers are not exploited, the gems and jewellery business is at risk of decline.
No one is more aware of this than CIBJO President Gaetano Cavalieri, who told the group’s Bangkok congress this week:
“If we lose the confidence of our consumers, and in so doing, undercut the value of our product, we will not remain in business, let alone prosper.”
Cavalieri is aware that jewellery is not a necessity of life. It is a luxury that people do not need in order to survive.
If consumers sense that jewellery is produced in a way that hurts vulnerable people or the environment, they may choose to buy some other form of luxury instead, like an exotic holiday or the latest phone.
Creating a strong ethical framework for the industry is a bedrock from which to launch marketing efforts to woo jewellery customers around the world.
Studies have shown that Millennial consumers are increasingly demanding high ethical standards in the luxury goods that they buy.
This week CIBJO proposed an ethical framework for the coloured gemstone industry.
Thailand, which hosted and sponsored the CIBJO congress, is one of the world’s leaders in the manufacture and export of coloured gemstone jewellery.
The theme of corporate social responsibility (CSR) dominated the congress, which attracted hundreds of industry leaders from around the world, from field geologists and retailers to association heads.
From now on, CIBJO’s reputation will hinge on its efforts to achieve bulletproof ethical standards across the global gems and jewellery industry.
