Dirty Gold

A fascinating, insightful study of how some retailers have addressed the challenge of making jewelry production more socially responsible. It makes a major contribution to both our theoretical and empirical understanding of the complex dynamics of business-society relations.

David Vogel, Solomon P. Lee Chair in Business Ethics, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley

Dirty Gold provides a compelling explanation for different responses among jewelers to critiques from activists about the ecological consequences of the gold jewelry supply chain. Well-written and engaging, the book maps out a model that features agency and leadership as key contributors to firm-level engagement with private environmental governance schemes. The empirically rich case studies add much needed nuance to the literature on corporate sustainability.

Jennifer Clapp, Professor and Canada Research Chair, University of Waterloo; coeditor of Corporate Power in Global Agrifood Governance

Why are some firms proactive in supporting private governance, while others resist? What are the implications of this answer for nurturing transnational business and environment coalitions capable of ameliorating critical environmental and social challenges? Targeting these questions toward the negative environmental and social aspects of 'dirty gold' production across the world, including 'conflict mining,' Bloomfield has produced a theoretical and empirical tour de force. As a result, his cases are not only illuminating for academics, but they are also fascinating, carefully articulated, and lively accounts of key individuals within firms in the sector, including the multi-national firm Walmart, a small 'shared value' firm 'Brilliant Earth', and specialty jewelers Tiffany. The book is must reading not only for students of private governance, firm behavior, and environmental targeting campaigns, but for anyone who cares about building meaningful environmental institutions in the 21st Century.

Ben Cashore, Professor, Environmental Governance & Political Science, Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies; Director, Governance, Environment and Markets (GEM) Initiative