Walmart's Human Rights- and Eco-Friendly Jewelry Line Is Neither

Two years ago, Walmart launched Love, Earth, a jewelry line that would increase the transparency of the industry. Love, Earth would meet a new level of environmental and human rights standards—from mine to factory, it was supposed to be a more responsible and traceable product.

An investigation in Bolivia, where some of the factories are located, reports that the reality on the ground doesn't quite match up.

Journalist Jean Friedman-Rudovsky has an extensive piece in the Broward Palm Beach New Times that illustrates multiple aspects of inconsistencies between what Walmart says about Love, Earth—that it is mined responsibly, manufactured ethically, supports human rights and improves working conditions—and what those conditions actually look like.

Friedman-Rudovsky introduces you to Julia and Maria, workers in La Paz who describe the insufficient pay at the factories, strip searches, lack of masks to protect from the dust, and supervisors who yell that if they don't finish their work quickly enough: "The doors are open for you to go."

Here's what Walmart says about Love, Earth:

We want to have the confidence that the gems and minerals in our jewelry are extracted, refined, manufactured and sold in a responsible way. This encompasses everything from promoting safe labor practices, to minimizing any negative social and ecological impact. Reaching these goals requires complete transparency in the supply chain. To achieve this much needed transparency, we are changing the way we interact with our suppliers and working to better understand our supply chains. We are also expanding our partnership efforts to include not only manufacturers, but also the mining companies themselves.

However, when Love, Earth was first being launched, Friedman-Rudovsky reports, there was little change in how the Aurafin factory (Aurafin is the Warren Buffett-owned Florida-based jewelry manufacturer that partnered with Walmart for the Love, Earth line) was run or monitored:

The Aurafin factory had already been a Walmart supplier for ten years, so when headquarters decided to partner with Walmart on the new initiative, the Bolivian facility entered in as part of the deal. According to Bracamonte [general manager of Aurafin's factory], no inspectors arrived, and there was no specialized review. He recalls: "There were a lot of forms to fill out."

Those papers filed, Love, Earth production began -- alongside the rest of Aurafin's normal manufacturing. "All that is just my usual stuff," Bracamonte says, pointing to the hundreds of pieces lying inches from the "responsible" ones.

Unidentified third-party monitoring

According to Walmart, a third-party verification company ensures its standards are upheld. Kory Lundberg, Senior Manager for Walmart's Sustainability Communications, responded to the New Times story by saying, "We will take prompt remedial action if our investigations confirm any of the findings."

I spoke with Lundberg this week and he told me that an independent auditing firm had conducted the investigation but was "unable to substantiate the allegations." I asked for the name of the auditing firm—he said he didn't know it and would find out. He never got back to me.

Mining

Walmart says it is the first major retailer to set standards of responsibility for the mining industry—which for gold and silver, almost always relies on toxic metals and chemicals and is detrimental to the environment.

Friedman-Rudovsky reports that there's nothing better, environmentally or socially, about the practices in mines that supply Love, Earth:

Love, Earth's mercury standards meet federal guidelines but, according to scientists, allow for "unacceptable amounts" of the dangerous substance to be released.

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