In the story about children mining gold in Africa, lots of you were interested in making sure your baubles and bling had no part of the sad practice of exploiting children to extract the precious metal. I am not afraid to be servicey so I found this brand that answers that accessory predicament.
It's called Love, Earth and it's a pilot project that's a collaboration of companies in the jewelry supply chain. Not just committed to protecting kids, the brand produces pieces that can be traced back to the ecologically-sustainable mine it cam from. Since every single gold ring made produces 20 tons of mining waste, and the processing makes thousands of gallons of cyanide, they've gone ultraresponsible and transparent, allowing you to track the entire history of the piece.
Want to know where to find the line? You may be surprised. . . To find out, read more.
Oh, yeppy yep! Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart! I know a lot of you have complicated feelings about the chain, but this line of jewelry is pretty remarkable and groundbreaking.
Each piece you purchase from the store has a tracking number allowing you to trace the whole story, an important step in making the whole jewelry industry more accountable and responsible to people, the earth, and ladies who like to wear finery. Wal-Mart is looking to add similar responsible diamond jewelry in the future.
Do Wal-Mart's big goals to supply itself by 100 percent renewable energy, and the fact that they're using their might for good, make them better in your eyes?
GUESS
Pussy Deluxe
DAY Birger et Mikkelsen
Aha. That explains why it's all so ugly.
1I wish they didn't mix silver and gold in all of their pieces.
2Oh come on, it's a start!
3Aha. That explains why it's all so ugly.
4Agreed verily. I don't like gold/silver combos at all...but it is a start
5we will all soon be living in walmarts. get ready people!
6Yes, the fug would be cut in half, at least, if we could settle on one color and stick to it. I can't believe every single piece in the collection is mixed.
7Hehehe...yesteryear...that's the next big thing in walmarts. Now not only can you shop for every single thing you'd ever need to buy, you can also LIVE there too! Aisle 10,000 dedicated entirely to apartments!
8so you're saying they don't use miners who are minors?
9Nope, not a good enough reason to shop at Wal-mart when the company itself exploits thousands of people and resources. Any purchase at Wal-mart pretty much nulls the the feel good effects of buying ethically made products from them. You end up supporting one good cause and several harmful ones. I rather shop at an ethically sound company for ethically sound goods.
10WalMart puts so many stores out of business it's sad. It's SO sad that more jewelry is bought at walmart then ANY other retailer. There is plenty of jewelry that comes from places that don't exploit children, but most stores can't afford to implement this sort of tracing. This reminds me of when Blood Diamond came out and everyone started worrying about where their diamonds came from. Jewelry comes from all over the world, just research what you're looking for. Golds price actually just went down in the last few days. Also the lower number on gold (12, 14, 22K etc) the more fillers (nickel zinc etc) and less gold are in there, less gold, less mining waste.
11We should all research our purchases a little better, not just jewelry, but I always wonder when I find a dirt cheap t-shirt made in some 3rd world country, who made this? Some poor child that we just haven't heard about yet?
If the sourcing of gold is a concern, here are two options:
(1) Make your own beaded jewelry.
(2) Buy antique / vintage.
I have bought a couple of nice rings at my favorite local antique shop for much less than a comparable new item would have cost. As a bonus, they're a bit more distinctive, not the current mass-produced, cookie-cutter stuff.
Plus, it seems a lot of department store "fine" jewelry lately is only 10K. For that quality (and price), I'll just buy the "fashion" stuff!
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