Jewelry Products
 As the world’s largest jewelry retailer, Wal-Mart can have a significant, positive impact on the way jewelry goes from mine to market, including refining, polishing and cutting, and through to manufacturing.
The vision of the Wal-Mart’s Jewelry Sustainable Value Network is to provide Wal-Mart customers and Sam’s Club members with affordable, quality jewelry items that have a reduced impact on human health and the environment.
- Long Term Goal: 100% of gold, silver and diamonds used in the jewelry sold in Wal-Mart will be sourced from mines and produced by manufacturers that meet Wal-Mart’s sustainability standards and criteria. We also want to incorporate recycled materials used in the jewelry by working with mines, refineries and manufacturers.
- Target: By 2010 achieve 10% traceability of all diamonds, gold and silver in jewelry sold in Wal-Mart from mines, refineries and manufacturers meeting Wal-Mart’s sustainability standards and criteria.
- Long Term Goal: Packaging : All jewelry poly-bags to be bio-degradable and convert all pallets and all boxes to recyclable materials.
We plan to achieve this vision by striving to ensure the application of the following principles in our supply chain throughout the life-cycle of our products: - Incorporation of lifecycle analysis into business decisions planning and management plans and to recover material value wherever possible
- Continual improvement of health and safety performance
- Efficient production and minimization of waste and pollution
- Safe disposal and management of waste and hazardous materials
- Protection of ecological functioning, ecosystem services and important biodiversity and respect legally designated protected areas
- Respect for the rights of individuals, indigenous peoples and communities
- Respect for employee rights regarding safe working conditions and terms of employment
- Contribution to the sustainable development of communities affected by operations
- Transparency of sources and assurance of sustainability performance
- Compliance with applicable laws, regulations and treaties at international, national, state and local levels
There are a number of initiatives underway to embed these principles into Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club jewelry divisions’ everyday business. One such project is the launch of Love, Earth, a jewelry collection made from traceable gold, silver and diamonds from mines of known origin or known recycled sources that conform to JSVN’s responsible mining criteria. Love, Earth®
Jewelry lovers can trace pieces from Wal-Mart’s new Love, Earth® line all the way back to the mines they came from simply by going online. Love, Earth is our first completely traceable jewelry line.
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