I would have expected Katy Sweeny, as a journalist, to get all the facts before making wild allegations about our industry. Her accusation that jewelry manufacturers are putting “poison in products for children” and that our industry is “more concerned with making money than creating a safe product” is false and reprehensible.
The Fashion Jewelry and Accessories Trade Association (FJATA) is an organization that represents more than 200 producers, suppliers and retailers of fashion jewelry, many of which are family-owned small businesses. Nothing is more important to our members than the safety of our customers. We are extremely proud of our products that bring joy to millions of adults and children.
Our products are safe. If Ms. Sweeny would have done her research, she would have learned that safe levels of cadmium have existed in fashion and fine jewelry (both adult and children”s jewelry) for decades, and there have never been reported adverse health effects in either children or adults from its presence.
Why is there cadmium in jewelry? Cadmium is found in metal components such as zinc or tin that is used to make fashion jewelry. This includes precious metal jewelry such as karat gold jewelry and sterling silver jewelry, where cadmium is a component in solders used in joining jewelry components because these solders melt and flow better at a lower temperature than non-cadmium solders. In addition, with the introduction of green initiatives and use of clean scrap material there exists in the normal course of alloying trace levels of cadmium in precious metals used to make jewelry.
Ms. Sweeny also failed to put my statement to the AP in proper context. My point regarding zero-level cadmium state legislation is that such legislation would result in almost all jewelry (“cheap” or expensive, adult or children) to be pulled off the shelves because of the fact that traces of cadmium are found in almost all jewelry.
I emphatically reject Ms. Sweeny”s accusation that our industry is putting children at risk. The bottom line: our jewelry is safe. There is no indication of widespread health risks associated with exposure to cadmium in amounts historically found in jewelry. Many of our members, in fact, test children”s jewelry to meet existing international standards for migratable cadmium that are based on sound science, and we support the adoption of a federal standard based on these existing international standards.
Michael Gale
Executive Director
Fashion Jewelry and Accessories Trade Association
North Kingstown, RI
