- The unauthorized use of images of an Amazonian tribe on Cartier’s website has drawn strong criticism
- The brand justified this use by a project that never actually took place
- Yanomami tribe, badly affected by illegal gold mining, slams company for hypocrisy
Cartier, the famous French luxury jewelry brand, recently came under fire for using images of the Yanomami tribe of the Amazon rainforest on its website without their permission. Everything seemed to start from a good gesture: the brand claimed to promote the culture of indigenous peoples and protect the tropical forest where they live. However, the project described on the jeweler’s website never actually took place. This did not prevent the jeweler from referring to it on its website.
“How can a company that makes gold jewelry, which we the Yanomami people oppose, use the image of the Yanomami?” asks Júnior Hekurari, a member of the indigenous group and head of the Yanomami health council, quoted by Fortune. The Yanomami tribe is among the most severely impacted by illegal gold mining and its pollution, which causes disease, death, social problems and wider environmental damage – in a nature on which the Yanomami depend.
Cartier is not the foundation of the same name…
Cartier does have a history with the approximately 40,000 Yanomami. It all actually dates back to 20 years ago, in 1984 – when the Cartier Foundation, the company’s philanthropic arm, was established. The Cartier Foundation has for several times highlighted this indigenous people, and even recently sponsored an exhibition featuring Yanomami photographs, as well as works by local artists, in an elegant arts center in the heart of New York.
For its part, the Cartier Foundation always seems to maintain a certain distance with the company of the same name. Dário Kopenawa, vice-president of the Hutukara Yanomami Association who points out that “anyone who buys a gold ring is part of the crime” also makes the distinction between Cartier and the eponymous foundation: “We know that Cartier buys gold all over the world…but the foundation is different”.
And to add: “It’s another coordinator, another branch. She supports the protection of the Yanomami”. Obviously, Cartier’s interest in such a foundation lies elsewhere. In a way, these kinds of foundations can give weight to the image of the brand. The goal is always to support or finance projects with real sincerity. But as the structure is not directly linked to the brand of the same name, the latter can quite well pursue controversial practices, while benefiting from the aura of the actions of its philanthropic work.
Still, by using Yanomami’s photo directly on its website, the jeweler Cartier has probably pushed the mix of genres a little too far. The photo was removed from the site at the end of March, along with all references to the project which never materialized. This did not prevent the controversy from continuing to swell.
In his defense, the jeweler claims that funds were indeed allocated for a forest preservation project in 2020, but the funds in question were reallocated to the purchase of medical equipment following the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. COVID-19. And ensures that the majority of the gold used in its jewelry comes from recycling, or from a sector that respects the standards established by the Responsible Jewelry Council.
