Jostens, one of the top jewelry distributors in the country and provider of the college’s class rings, is being criticized by environmental and human rights activists for not joining a campaign to end controversial gold-mining practices by precious metal suppliers.

Oxfam International, an international organization that works to end human rights violations, and Earthworks, a group dedicated to saving the environment from the human impact of gathering resources, have petitioned the world’s leading jewelry retailers to join the “No Dirty Gold Campaign” to pressure mining corporations to adhere to environmental and labor standards for two years.

Eight major retailers, including Tiffany & Co., the Signet Group and the Zale Corp., have signed the petition, while companies including Jostens, Wal-Mart and Rolex, are accused of being “laggard” for not joining.

Paul Bugala, extractive-industries organizer for Oxfam America, said though Jostens has not signed on, this does not mean its business practices or the practices of its gold suppliers are unsafe.

Rich Stoebe, director of communications at Jostens, said the company is still analyzing the No Dirty Gold Campaign to see what, if any, action should be taken to comply with the campaign.

“Jostens is committed to conducting all operations in such a manner that protects the health of the environment, employees, contractors and public,” Stoebe said. “We’re still closely examining all of the elements [of No Dirty Gold]. When we make a commitment, we want to live by it.”

Stoebe said Jostens promotes clean mining conditions independent of the No Dirty Gold Campaign. The company works closely with the Fair Labor Association, a nonprofit group that represents global-manufacturing workers, and maintains a strong record with the organization during unannounced audits of facilities in the United States and abroad.

“We have a very good record of working with the FLA as a third party willing to help us with environmental commitments and intentions,” he said.

The standards No Dirty Gold Campaign signers agree to include pressuring the gold-mining companies they buy from to receive permission from communities affected by mining and to not force people off their lands. Also, suppliers agree not to dump mine waste into the ocean, rivers, lakes or streams or to generate excessive sulfuric acid. They agree to protect workers by ensuring projects are not located in areas of war and military conflict and to adhere to labor standards. The campaign also asks mining companies to cover all costs of closing down and cleaning up mine sites.

According to the campaign, gold needed to produce one ring creates an average of 20 tons of toxic waste, which often finds its way into the water supply. The impact has devastated the global environment, from demolition of thousands of acres of rainforests in Papua New Guinea to the draining of groundwater from Nevada, according to the campaign’s Web site.

Senior Andres Perez-Charneco, co-president of the Ithaca College Environmental Society, said if the college prides itself on sustainability, it should consider a switch to a different retailer.

“If the college views itself as a symbol of sustainability, as somewhere that is a leader in positive, progressive thought, a small step would be to change distributors,” Perez-Charneco said.

Jostens’ largest market competition in class rings comes from Balfour and Herff Jones, Inc. Neither company signed on to the No Dirty Gold Campaign but were also not pointed out as “laggard” companies by Oxfam.

Senior Julie Perng, co-chair of Ithaca College Students for Fair Trade, said the group received information about the campaign from Oxfam last fall. During tabling hours, the group distributed information to students and participants wrote postcards to Jostens voicing their concern. But other projects, such as introducing fair- trade coffee to dining halls and campaigning for sweatshop-free bookstore apparel, took attention away from the issue, she said. Bugala said if students are concerned about the issue, they should raise campus awareness of the issue and approach school administration with their concerns.

“From there, the school can approach their vendor and ask them to join onto the campaign,” he said. “This is an especially effective move around contract renewal time.”

Other brands sold on campus have also been targeted by environmental and humanitarian groups. Coca-Cola has faced several accusations of stifling unions and human-rights violations at production facilities in countries such as India and Columbia. Pepsi-Cola was accused of releasing harmful chemicals from manufacturing plants into water supplies in 2003 by the Centre for Science and Environment. And Sodhexo, the college’s food-service provider, faced student protests and sit-ins from students after signing a 2000 contract with the college because of ties to Corrections Corporation of America, a for-profit prison company. Sophomore Kristin Vanderbilt, who has a high-school class ring from Jostens, said jewelry should not come at the expense of workers’ rights.

“If you can recycle jewelry instead of having workers mine new metal, it can spread happiness without wasting more resources,” she said.

But Perez-Charneco said there is only one way to completely avoid buying socially and environmentally irresponsible class rings.

“The safest alternative would be just not to buy one, which I know for a lot of people is not an option,” he said.