Jewelry Opinion Consumer Council (JCOC) Study Highlights Jewelry Consumers’ Ethical Concerns
In a study of the jewelry sector in 2007, JCOC notes how Blood Diamonds, Dirty Gold and to a lesser extent, Rubies from Burma have led many consumers to be concerned about where their jewelry comes from and how it is made.
Regarding Rubies: Just eleven percent of jewelry buying consumers were aware of the issues surrounding rubies from Burma. Regardless of whether or not one believes that the ruby boycott is an appropriate action, when consumers were made aware of the issues in Burma from JA’s perspective, fully one third said that they could consider not buying a Burmese ruby, and one quarter said that they were very likely to boycott the store that sold rubies from Burma!
This suggests that there is a large untapped market for ethically sourced gemstones.
Regarding Diamonds: Forty percent of consumers said they would pay more for a diamond accompanied by a certificate authenticating it was conflict free. A full seventy-eight percent were unaware of the Kimberly Certification process.
Right now, outside of some Canadian sourcing, diamond rough is sent to a central distribution. A diamond from a particular mine in Africa in which the labor and environment are respected, with a certificate of origin would potentially demand a premium. It would also be a great story.
This study highlights that there is a huge potential risk and opportunity for the jewelry sector as the ethical movement gains momentum.
As I have outlined in my article on Blue Ocean marketing, some of the change agents pushing ethical practices will do so by highlighting current “unethical” practices in the jewelry sector.
In marketing to the ethical consumer, companies will be undermining the mainstream jewelry sector simply by awareness of the supply chain issues. Jewelers have already expressed this concern of “ethical” and “non-ethical” products. How do you explain that to your customer?
For those who are in front of this wave now, the survey shows that there is a significant market already existing for ethical rubies and diamonds. At some point, there will be a “tipping point,” just as there was with fair trade coffee.
Special thanks to JCOC for this survey.
