Responsible Sourcing
Industry Leadership

Signet is a Founding and three-time Certified Member of the RJC, the jewelry industry’s premier standards and certification organization. In May 2019, Signet Vice President of Corporate Affairs, David Bouffard, was elected chairman of the RJC. He is pictured here (left) with Andrew Bone, Executive Director (right). Other RJC elected officials include Peter Karakchiev, Head of International Relations at ALROSA as Vice-Chair; Jason Rubin, President and CEO of the Republic Metals Corporation as RJC Honorary Secretary; and Feriel Zerouki, De Beers’ Senior Vice President, International Relations and Ethical Initiatives as Honorary Treasurer. This marks the first time that the RJC board officers include a retailer, a refiner and producers, thereby representing the entire jewelry supply chain. Also for the first time, the RJC board officers represent Russia, Europe and the United States, and a large scale retailer chairs the board.

In his role as RJC Chair and as a retailer, David Bouffard is working to make the customer’s voice the most relevant in the RJC’s work and, in turn, create greater awareness of the RJC across the industry and among more consumers. During his tenure, he has presented on the pressing need for responsible sourcing at seminars and meetings around the world, as well as before members of the US Department of State and EU representatives, where he discussed the importance of the RJC role in the industry.

The RJC Code of Practices (CoP) is the foundation of the organization’s work and addresses human rights, labor rights, environmental impact, mining practices, product disclosure and other topics in the jewelry supply chain. In 2018, Signet led efforts to revise the CoP to incorporate international guidance on supply chain due diligence and to extend the scope of RJC’s standard to include silver and colored gemstones. Signet requires all suppliers to join the RJC over time. In addition, RJC certification provides third-party validation for suppliers implementing the SRSPs.