Love, Earth®

Jewelry Sustainability at Wal-Mart
Wal-Mart, recognizing the potential impact the activities in producing jewelry (including mining, refining, polishing, and cutting and manufacturing) can have on the environment and communities, and being the largest retailer of jewelry in the world, sees an opportunity to promote more sustainable practices in the jewelry supply chain. To this end, Wal-Mart has established a jewelry sustainability group, with a vision to provide Wal-Mart and Sam's Club customers with affordable, quality products that have less impact on communities and the environment.

This group is working on a number of initiatives to embed sustainability principles into the everyday business of Wal-Mart's jewelry division, including:

• Setting expectations for the reduction of waste generated
• Increasing the amount of recyclable materials in packaging
• Optimizing our logistical arrangements in the transport of goods to our stores
• Launching the Love, Earth jewelry brand, the result of a pilot project in which a transparent supply chain is in place that ensures the gold and silver used in the jewelry is from mines of known origin.

Love, Earth
Love, Earth® is a jewelry brand that demonstrates that large-scale retailers and their suppliers, right down to the mine, can work together to produce and deliver affordable, quality jewelry made from gold and silver that is traceable and comes from mines that meet Wal-Mart's environmental and social criteria. In the future, we will include diamond jewelry in the Love, Earth collection.

Love, Earth is the result of a collaborative effort of companies in the jewelry value chain that share the vision that business can make a positive contribution to sustainable development and are willing to demonstrate transparency in the jewelry supply chain. This project, therefore, is a means to an end; it is a first step on our path to greater sustainability in our supply chain.

Traceability
Each customer who purchases a piece from the Love, Earth collection will be able to trace the origin of the gold and silver used in their jewelry. Simply launch a Web browser on your computer (e.g., MS Internet Explorer), go to www.loveearthinfo.com and follow the instructions on screen. You will find your tracking number on a tag attached to your piece of Love, Earth jewelry.

Why this is important
A challenge for many retailers is understanding the origin of the materials found in the jewelry they sell or the practices that were used to create that piece of jewelry. As an industry, the production of jewelry can have negative environmental impacts associated with the mining of metals and gemstones. Poorly planned and managed mining projects can impact the environment and local communities. Mining operations can affect soil, water, air and habitats. The physical impacts of mining operations can include clearing large areas of vegetation, blasting through rock to expose and mine minerals, the production of 'waste' and the processing of metal ore which can require the use of toxic chemicals.

The Love, Earth pilot project is important because it shows for the first time that materials found in a piece of jewelry purchased from a retailer of Wal-Mart's size can be made traceable all the way from the mine to the store. Secondly, it is important because it ensures that at each step of the supply chain, from the mine to the manufacturer, companies are working toward leading industry standards for environmental and social performance.

For more information about Love, Earth and to trace your piece of jewelry, please visit: www.loveearthinfo.com.