The changes affected more than 40 suppliers, which help it produce more than 100 million pieces annually. Pandora - the world’s largest jewelry maker, selling more than 100 million pieces per year - said it has delivered on a pledge it made four years ago to use recycled silver and gold for all the bracelets, necklaces, earrings and other trinkets in its collections. By moving away from newly mined metals, the company said it will reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by an estimated 58,000 metric tons annually. That is the equivalent of taking 6,000 gasoline-powered cars off the road. Silver is the most widely used material in Pandora’s products, accounting for 81 percent of the content at the end of 2021, according to the company. As of the end of 2023, 93 percent of the silver and gold used in Pandora’s collections came from recycled sources; it will achieve 100 percent by the second half of 2024. Pandora’s revenue for 2023 was around $4 billion. "In our climate accounts, that will make a huge difference," said Mads Twomey-Madsen, senior vice president of sustainability for Pandora. Other jewelry companies, including Prada and Tiffany & Co., use recycled silver, gold and other precious minerals as a selling point, but Pandora’s commitment is the most extensive given the volume it produces. It’s not without controversy: The Jewelers Vigilance Committee, a nonprofit focused on industry ethics, is lobbying the Federal Trade Commission to ban the term "recycled" in marketing. Its gripe is that metals such as gold and silver aren’t wasted, and have been recovered and melted for reuse for years. The group argues that the term "recycled" is a form of virtue-signaling. It took a substantial effort for Pandora to switch over to recycled sources, and it will cost an extra $10 million annually on top of its usual sourcing contracts to source silver and gold under the company’s new policy, Twomey-Madsen said. Sources for... |