How do
corporations support sustainable consumerism in light of lack of transparency
and the slew of misleading claims in the market? By purchasing fully
transparent product source to shelf and by communicating that to their
customers.
Love, Earth Jewelry: From mine to store
In
another “game changing” move, congrats goes to Wal-Mart Stores Inc this week
for introducing a ‘transparent’ line of gold and silver jewelry that can be
traced from the mine to store shelves. "For every ring that is made, gold
mining generates approximately 20 tons of waste. Most of the world's gold
deposits consist of microscopic specks that must be chemically extracted from
rocks using thousands of gallons of cyanide.”
Wal-Mart
said the Love, Earth line, which includes a $69.84 sterling silver necklace and
$48 hoop earrings, will be sold in its U.S. discount stores, Sam's Club
warehouses and online. A customer who buys the jewelry can log on to a website
to see where their particular piece of jewelry was mined and learn about the suppliers'
environmental programs.
"It's
the first time ever that we, or any major mass retailer, have been able to
provide customers with a way to trace the path of their product from the mine
it was actually mined from to the shelf," said Wal-Mart spokeswoman Tara
Raddohl.
As
the retailer looks to sell more jewelry sourced from mines and manufacturers
that meet its environmental and human rights standards. Those standards
currently include minimization of waste and pollution; safe disposal of waste
and hazardous materials; respect for employee rights; and compliance with
applicable laws and regulations. Wal-Mart wants at least 10 percent of its
jewelry offerings to meet those standards by 2010.
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