【Canada】Is Low-Cost Costume Jewelry Safe? Is It Free from Harmful Metals?

A few weeks ago, we questioned whether the cosmetic products we use are safe, what the prohibited ingredients are, and who ensures compliance with regulations. Now, it’s the turn of costume jewelry, following an investigation by Canadian television that revealed high levels of cadmium in some pieces of low-cost jewelry sold in various stores. But are we exposed to any danger?

Marketplace is a program on the Canadian channel CBC, dedicated to quality control of products sold in the country. In an episode aired earlier this year, they discovered that several pieces sold by two well-known fashion chains showed cadmium content far above the recommended level. Specifically, the brands named are Ardene and Aldo Accessories, both of Canadian origin but with stores worldwide, where the products, manufactured in China, were found to contain cadmium. The study analyzed 50 pieces of jewelry by researchers from the University of Toronto and École Polytechnique de Montréal. The results were surprising: seven of the pieces contained between 15 and 7,000 times the amount of cadmium recommended by Health Canada (the official agency responsible for consumer health). There were particularly serious cases, such as a pendant composed almost entirely of cadmium, or a bracelet charm with 79% cadmium, equivalent to 6,000 times the recommended amount.

The brands mentioned in the report quickly responded. Aldo removed all products from the market, while Ardene promised to launch an investigation. In any case, both stated that they had never received a complaint about this issue and insisted that their products are not intended for children, even though teenagers are a common audience for their low-cost accessories.

Cadmium has a health effect similar to lead. It is carcinogenic and can cause kidney failure, bone issues, and various complications, especially in people exposed to it permanently. However, these effects would not affect people wearing jewelry containing this metal. Contact is not the problem: the danger lies in swallowing or chewing the product, which is relatively possible in the case of children, whose bodies also absorb cadmium more quickly than adults.

The case investigated by Marketplace focuses on Canada, where there is no specific legislation on the use of cadmium in costume jewelry; it is only prohibited in products intended for children. However, the same program conducted a similar investigation in 2001, delving into the use of lead. Following that report, lead was strictly prohibited. The good news? The investigations raised a red flag, leading to safer consumer purchases. The bad news? Lead has been replaced by cadmium. In the European Union, cadmium has been banned in costume jewelry since 2011. It was the last of the prohibitions on this product, following its removal from the manufacture of batteries or electronic products. It has also been banned in Mexico since 2011, for the same reasons. In fact, in both cases, as is now happening in Canada, it was complaints from journalists or consumer associations that drove the legislation.

Cadmium continues to be present in products from China, despite the Asian giant also banning manufacturing with this metal. There is little current data on the presence of cadmium in legally sold costume jewelry in Europe or Latin America, but there is a study that analyzed imported costume jewelry in 2007 (70,000 tons), which revealed a chilling figure of 238 tons of cadmium introduced into the market. The only pieces of costume jewelry and fine jewelry exempt from cadmium legislation are antiques, for obvious reasons. But there is another market that continues to use it, sometimes with impunity: counterfeits, which imitate jewelry products at much lower prices and use materials prohibited by legislation.

In conclusion, the legislation is clear, but there are insufficient control mechanisms, so from time to time, studies emerge showing that prohibited materials are still present in pieces sold in Spain.