- Share This Post
- submit
- 0
-
Sparkle (0)
Wal-Mart takes gets a bad rap in eco-land. But you gotta hand it to them, greenwashing or no, the company has taken a giant step in setting the bar high—or at least wide—for big-box inclusion of organic and sustainably sourced products. As part of a five-year pledge to buy organic cotton http://money.cnn.com/2006/07/25/news/companies/pluggedin_gunther_cotton.fortune, they purchased more organic cotton this year than any other company in the world, thereby supporting sustainable farming on a global level. And their “Simple Choices, Big Differences” campaign might just end up greening Peoria, or at least inciting conversation in the gun aisle.
With “earth-friendly” offerings across the board—from energy-efficient appliances to lighting to diapers, Wal-Mart brings in the green at prices that—although they might be underwritten by production in third-world countries and a lack of health insurance for workers here at home—are ridiculously competitive. Think organic cotton t-shirts for $7 that a boutique might bump up to $75 in the name of “doing their part.” Lotta Stenson’s reusable tote cost more than your monthly grocery allowance; Wal-Mart’s organic cotton shopper (link to shopper story) is $3. Nuff said.
With this in mind, we were intrigued when we heard about the Love, Earth line of jewelry currently being sold at the Mart. No, it’s not made from recycled metals, and you know how we feel about that (sources say a recycled line is in the works). But the line is produced in partnership with heavy-hitter Conservation International to ensure that each piece is 100% traceable and requires fair-trade practices throughout the entire supply chain, from the mine the materials were sourced from to the stores themselves. No blood diamonds here.
So we typed in the batch number on a charming little gold-chained, silver “Tree of Life” pendant necklace on the Love, Earth website, and followed the chain. The gold bars had been mined in Utah, then went to Florida to join up with some silver. The metals joined up with some Peruvian gold chain in Bolivia, where the piece was cast, then were sent back to Florida for assembly, and finally to Wal-Mart, deep in the heart of Arkansas, for distribution.
Now we know where this little necklace came from, but can only guess at the environmental costs of transporting it back and forth across two continents. And we know that the Love, Earth website encourages the recycling of paper by depicting a happy model holding a fluttering butterfly in a field of yellow flowers, but the packaging doesn’t appear to be recycled.
Love, Earth is an interesting concept, and the designs are au courant with what’s showing in the windows of exclusive boutiques and in the pages of fashion magazines. But we’d like to see Wal-Mart commit to the jewelry industry on the same level as it’s chosen to champion organic cotton—by using one-stop-shop American manufacturing and recycled metals that may make for a few dollar increase, but a far lower environmental cost.
Find out how to win one of 10 traceable "tree of life" necklaces by reading more at EcoStiletto Fashion.
EcoStiletto.com gives you the lowdown on how to reduce your carbon footprint from a ginormous Ugg to an oh-so-slender Manolo, with updates on green fashion, beauty, lifestyle, celebrities, and more, plus a free weekly newsletter with information on discounts, eco-swag, and go-to green events nationwide. Stiletto-size me!