Lab-Grown Sector Gears Up for Eco Audit

Oct 15, 2019 5:57 AM By Rapaport News

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RAPAPORT... Six synthetic-diamond companies have signed up for a pilot program aimed at creating a sustainability standard for the sector.

SCS Global Services, a third-party auditing specialist, will analyze companies’ environmental, social and governance records, with the goal of devising an independent sustainability certification for lab-grown diamonds.

Crystal brand Swarovski and jeweler Helzberg Diamonds — both sellers of lab-grown — are among the participants, SCS said last week. They are joined by four synthetics growers: Florida-headquartered Green Rocks, Maryland-based WD Lab Grown Diamonds, Indian chemical vapor deposition (CVD) producer Goldiam, and Israel-based Lusix. A newly launched Standard Review Committee comprising lab-grown-diamond producers, retailers, academics and nonprofit organizations will oversee the process.

The Lab Grown Diamond Council (LGDC), which came into being earlier this year, brought in SCS to work on the standard following criticism of the sector’s portrayal of synthetics as green alternatives to natural diamonds. The US Federal Trade Commission wrote to eight synthetics companies in March, warning them against making unproven environmental claims such as “eco-friendly,” “eco-conscious” and “sustainable.”

The pilot program will help confirm facts about the production operations behind lab-grown diamonds, noted Stanley Mathuram, vice president of SCS. “The pilot audits mark an important step in the process of certifying sustainability,” he said.

Image: A 9.04-carat round brilliant produced by WD Lab Grown Diamonds in 2018 using chemical vapor deposition. (WD Lab Grown Diamonds)

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