How is sterling silver recycled, and can a seller call it “recycled silver”?

ZKZ Editorial TeamMain answer · Product & gemmology desk

Under the FTC Green Guides, a recycled content claim must not misrepresent the product, and the material must have been recovered or diverted from the waste stream, either in manufacturing or after consumer use. A seller should hold records that show where the silver came from and how much of the piece it makes up.

What the guide says

Fact 16 CFR 260.13(a) says it is deceptive to misrepresent, directly or by implication, that a product or package is made of recycled content.

Fact 16 CFR 260.13(b) says it is deceptive to represent that an item contains recycled content unless it is composed of materials that have been recovered or otherwise diverted from the waste stream, either during the manufacturing process (pre-consumer) or after consumer use (post-consumer), and that for pre-consumer material the advertiser should have substantiation that it would otherwise have entered the waste stream.

Fact 16 CFR 260.13(c) says unqualified claims are acceptable only if the entire product, excluding minor incidental components, is made from recycled material, and that for items partly made of recycled material the claim should be clearly and prominently qualified to avoid deception about the amount, by weight, of recycled content.

Fact An example in the guide says that scraps from the original manufacturing process that would normally be reused in the same process do not count, so a claim based on them would be deceptive.

What to do

Our advice Ask your refiner or supplier for written evidence of the source and the percentage, and keep it.

Our advice Say what you can prove, such as the share of recycled silver in the alloy, and avoid unqualified words if part of the piece is not recycled.

It depends Silver is often reused in industry, so what counts as recycled in a given supply chain can be unclear.

Our advice Keep the evidence with each batch, not in a general folder. When a customer asks where your recycled silver comes from, the answer should come from a document you can show, not from memory.

Uncertain We did not verify how silver recycling is documented in practice, and the guide is a US guide.

Related reading: Can I wear sterling silver diamond jewelry at the gym? · 925 Sterling Silver vs Sterling Silver: Is There a Difference?

Sources

• 16 CFR 260.13, FTC Green Guides: recycled content claims

Fact = stated by the cited source. Our advice = editorial recommendation. Uncertain / it depends = limits of what can be said in general.