No Dirty Gold? Or Is It Simply Good Marketing?

THE VENEER OF VIRTUOSITY

Thanks to Zoe at Verbal Croquis for bringing my attention to this article in the NY Times about the continuing effort to raise consumer awareness to the issues surrounding gold and gold mining.  As well, Nicole at the Luxist is all over this topic, too.

I've had an ongoing e-mail conversation with the Tribunal Of Good Taste on this matter and similar subjects, and it comes down to this (for me, anyhow):  no one wants to be a bad guy.  We all like to be the good guy and do the right thing.  You know, do right by Mother Earth and all that.

1.  We all want cleaner air.
2.  We all want clean water.
3.  We all want more ethical mining practices.
4.  We all want safer mining practices.
5.  We expect that when we pay Waste Management to recycle our recyclables, that they darn well recycle them!
6.  We want tasty organic romaine lettuce without an infestation of bugs in spite of SIX washings (bite me Paul Newman).
7.  We feel particularly good when we find out that some of our favorite shirts are either organic cotton or Lyocell knits, which, according to the Tribunal is a great alternative fabric insofar as sustainable products are concerned.
8.  We'd all prefer not to be run off the road by a 95 lb. housewife domestic engineer sitting on a telephone book dangerously attempting to pilot a Lincoln Navigator with a total of 28 lbs. of toddler on board, one yoga mat, a couple of bottles of cheap Pinot Noir (because she heard somewhere that Merlot sucks), a new copy of "Sideways" (the old one was watched too many times and she still missed the point that the pathetic Miles was savoring and drinking Merlot in the diner at the end of the movie), and some ranunculuses from the Farmer's Market.  Can't she fit her shit in a smaller rig?  Like in a Mercedes M350?  It costs the same, it's safe, it has better gas mileage x2, you can see around it and it's smaller.  Huh?  Buy American?  Okay, the BMW X5 is built in South Carolina and it's Euro-fabulous.  Sheesh.
9.  Etc., etc., ad nauseum.

None of us wants to be that guy or that girl who takes out the full-page ad in the NY Times that reads:

PAVE THE WORLD!  SLUG A TREE!  CLUB BABY SEALS!

We want to be one of the good guys!  We want to:

SAVE THE WORLD!  HUG A TREE!  HEART BABY SEALS!

Really, we do.

And this is precisely why the whole "No Dirty Gold" campaign annoys me.

At its very essence, it is benevolent, much-needed and long overdue.  However, the reality is this,

"The pledge is minimal in its requirements, essentially a promise to work toward a resolution of gold's tangled issues, rather than a solution.  But many environmentalists and industry officials say that the momentum and commitment are what matters."

Call me a cynic, but simply because some of the heavy hitters (including Zale's, Helzberg, Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels) agreed to join Oxfam's campaign and took out a full-page in the NY Times on Valentine's Day doesn't mean anything is going to change.

"It's like the lock has been picked, opening a door that could lead to responsibly sourced gold," said Stephen D'Esposito, the president and executive director of Earthworks, a mining watchdog group in Washington that helped create the campaign."

At least when Tiffany & Co. signed the pledge a year ago (and they were the only ones to have done so a year ago), they didn't feel the need to use it as a marketing tool.

Okay, so I'm a cynic.  And I suspect I am not the only one out there.  However, at the same time, I want to feel virtuous and happy about the part I do to make the world a better place.  I really want to do my part.

But I am not one for whom buying from Helzberg and Zale's is going to make me feel good, or make me feel like I am doing my part.

If you think that you might feel better buying from those guys I have a couple of thoughts and suggestions.  Of course I do.  That's why you come here, right?  Let's see if we can wipe off some of the veneer of virtuosity, shall we?

As of five minutes ago, only a precious few, small-production jewelers are really doing the drill where "clean," recycled gold and certified, non-conflict diamonds and gemstones are concerned.  Like Leber/Earthwise mentioned in the article.  They are doing the real deal and making the real sacrifices.  I'm not impressed by their design chops, but I am very impressed and encouraged by their effort.

Just so you know, the big guys aren't using recycled gold or even buying any "responsibly sourced gold."  They only took out an ad and signed up for a campaign, okay?  A campaign whose requirements are admittedly minimal and whose results are nil thus far.

So, before you buy, check out and see where they get their diamonds?

Oh, and also their colored stones?

And maybe check and see if the ad agency did the layout of that Valentine's Day ad for free?

And one more thing?  Check and see if the NY Times gave them that full-page ad gratis, mmmmm-kay?

Used to be that puppies and kittens and babies and cute kids sold products.  Now it seems that the (albeit thin) veneer of virtuosity is making headway as well.

That concludes the marketing lesson for today.  Class dismissed.

Comments

[vc]

you're my hero!
more later...

[henri-v]

After I read the NY Times article and was in a frenzy to post, all happy and excited, and then I felt kinda deflated, like, "well, how much of this is speculation on actual future policy changes and the ability to independently verify the exact *ethicality* of a quantity of gold?" So the entry on Tribunal was vague and open-ended.

Even if demands upon the industry are made by 2008, as the article suggests, can we expect that there will be truth in materials' labelling? Can verification be enforced for gold? I am caught between wanting to rally this as the first important step towards mining reforms (?), consumer involvement, etc. and doubting that change is possible with the "big guns" of the industry (note, outside Tiffany & Co., how it's the smaller, low-volume businesses that are getting on board with "greener gold"). I do not question OxFam's goals whatsoever, but you are right, Susie, this does seem like a great PR strategy for the johnny-come-lately jewellers who sign on to the campaign. Easy, friendly publicity. Like we shared in our emails, if consumer vigilance is not set for "HIGH", they can be assuaged/impressed by minimal "greenwashing" tactics. (I have so much to write on this topic --- ack, more to post this weekend.)

The "good" take-home message for me was that this Council for Responsible Jewellery Practices appointee, Michael Rae, was previously affiliated with the Australian WWF. Maybe he has the diplomacy and guts to make great things happen. [cue heroic music]

(Hey Susie Insider, is this a real council anyway -- a body with any sway?)

Maybe the price of gold should increase even more. Maybe consumers would respect that is a precious metal available in limited amounts. Maybe crappy gold jewelry should be banned as being a misuse of the metal -- I'm just riffing here. ;>

I mean, where does all this gold go? The article said that "80 percent of all the gold mined today is fabricated into jewelry", but there must be a glut of broken and mediocre quality stuff that can be reclaimed.

Another great post, missy.

[Jen]

Very interesting post. I'm right there with you on the cynicism, though. How many times have we been fooled by companies claiming to do the right thing for the environment or people when they're making the smallest and cheapest choice possible? It doesn't sit right with me.

[Tammy]

I agree a lot with you on this. I thought immediatel of the diamond industry. Put out an add does what? Give money to the newspaper? How does that really help anyone?

[Wendy]

Hi Susanna,

Honestly, it takes me so long to write a post sometimes that the week goes by before it is done!

Ideals are a wonderful thing. However, a grandiose advertisement heralding "working towards a solution" is more than a little over the top. Especially when the ad is placed on a day when a certain percentage of men, already with either jewellery or chocolate in mind, will be frantic over what they haven't done just yet. More to the point, a press release naming the members of the working group, their projected timeline, and describing the issues involved would likely have been a more "serious" way to proceed.

However, the 3 R's adage should come into play in as many aspects of our lives as we can make it. So in that vein, would you consider writing a bit on just that? Making old jewellery new, perhaps? The magic of repolishing or even recutting gems? How a good jeweller tackles rebuilding a treasured piece? Oh -- the possibilities are endless, and I'm sure you're the gal to do it!

Cheers,

Wendy

P.S. Belated congratulations on the SMWV.

[verbalcroquis]

I came back to post but all the people who commented already said what I would have said. I'm just hoping that more people will see through the tricky wording like you have.

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