A Hole-istic Approach

Wal-Mart, mining companies team up to trace path of jewelry supply chain

Posted at 7:31 AM on 16 Jul 2008

Retail giant Wal-Mart is joining with Conservation International as well as mining companies Rio Tinto and Newmont Mining to launch a pilot project that lets customers trace the path of their jewelry from mine to mega-store. Marketed as Wal-Mart's "Love, Earth" brand jewelry, the items stand out from others in that once they're purchased, customers can go to the Love, Earth website, plug in the tag number from their jewelry item and see what mine it came out of and the path it traveled from refiner to manufacturer to retailer. Wal-Mart has been marketing Love, Earth items as more eco-friendly, but there's some reason to question the designation. Some of the gold used in the Love, Earth items comes from Newmont's Nevada mines, which, among other techniques, use cyanide heap-leach mining to extract gold. Project partner Conservation International says of the practice, "Cyanide ... can filter into the surrounding ground, water, and air if not properly contained." However, despite questionable greenness at the Newmont mine, Wal-Mart maintains that a more open supply chain will eventually lead to industry improvements.

sources: The Denver Post, Conservation International [PDF], Conservation International, Newmont Mining
see also, in Grist: Q&A with mining watchdog Radhika Sarin of Earthworks, Umbra on wedding rings

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Comments: (3 comments)

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Walmart will never be eco friendly

Wal-Mart is inherently environmentally unfriendly because of its size. by being a large store is must service many people, drawing from a larger area which means people have to drive farther. before the rise of the big box store people went to small local stores down the street, now they must drive out side of town to wal-mart.

wal-marts size also requires large parking lots. these destroy rivers because the water can not seep into the ground. when it rains the rivers flood and when it is not raining the rivers are dry.

Wal-Mart has been sued by the government for breaking environmental regulations so many times its not funny.

When you look at the history of wal-mart manipulating consumers and showing a total disregard towards the environment, and take into account that all these environmental measure they are taking are a drop in the bucket compared to how much they have hurt the environment, it is clear that this is no more than a marketing ploy. While we should not discourage wal-mart from being environmentally friendly (every bit counts) they are still environmental menaces and we should spend our money elsewhere. shop local.

by mathnsci at 8:17 PM on 16 Jul 2008

Re: Wal Mart

I agree!!

by thenvironmentalist at 7:38 AM on 17 Jul 2008

Walmart isn't the problem

I get a bit testy at those that come down on Walmart. They are by no means a fabulous company, but to blame them? They are making money because people buy from them. They are instituting green improvements that many other companies are not. They did not make the cyanide hep-leach extraction process for gold. They are illuminating it. I am impressed at this change. Why do the previous posters find it so easy to chastise Walmart for providing supply line info, when Tiffany's, etc do no such thing?

I say applaud the information. Applaud the effort. And encourage the changes to the companies with your own buying habits. How many of you know where your earrings came from?

And most importantly, work to pass legislation that promotes clean earth practices. But to chastise a company for selling a product that people buy? No. Chastise our government for not regulating it.

The earth is our house. Let's clean it up!

by zenkate at 8:46 AM on 17 Jul 2008

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