Has Michelle Obama made a mammoth error of judgement?

She’s considered one of the most stylish women in America, often spoken about in the same breath as Jackie Onassis. She is well educated, has a successful career, is a mother of 2, married to the most green-conscious President and wears ivory!

Yes that’s right Michelle Obama has been spotted recently wearing numerous pieces of jewellery by Monique Péan made from mammoth ivory. So how does this fit in with her style and beliefs? Does mammoth ivory deserve the negative reputation of elephant ivory? And are there any alternatives?

Michelle Obama wearing numerous Monique Péan pieces

In conclusion, Opulent Ethics are concerned over the growing popularity of mammoth ivory and feel that the mammoth fossils being found would be better served being used by scientists to understand the mammoth’s history, being exhibited in museums or being left in their resting place in Siberia.

We do not feel that mammoth ivory deserves the negative press implied by its association to elephant ivory but are concerned that over time the differences would become less and elephant poaching would increase once more. Finally, Opulent Ethics feel that as there are numerous alternatives to ivory including vegetable ivory and synthetic materials there is no need to be using anything else.     

For the full article on Michelle Obama wearing mammoth ivory see the Guardian website and for more information on the mammoth ivory trade see the Independent website.



That's all for now....

It is estimated that there are around 150 million mammoth remains held in the ice under Russia’s Siberian permafrost. The pieces are buried between 1 metre and 1.5 kilometres under the ice and are exhumed by local residents before being sent to Moscow for sale. Most of the ivory is sent to China for carving before being sold in Hong Kong, Asia, Europe and the United States.

Currently 60 tonnes of ivory is being transported from Russia to China per year and with a worth of approximately $350,000 per tonne the mammoth ivory trade is flourishing. Currently, only Russian nationals are able to hunt for and export the mammoth ivory but as the market for extinct animal parts is increasing and is estimated at being worth £12.6 million per year then at some point outsiders are going to try and get in on the action.

Mammoth ivory items are not for sale in African countries as it is feared that the trade in illegal elephant ivory would increase in response to legal ivory being on sale. Wild elephant populations were decreased by up to 50% prior to the 1989 ban on African elephant poaching. Whilst there is not yet any difference in Asian or African elephant numbers there is growing concern from animal rights and conversation groups that this will change as mammoth ivory becomes more commonplace.  

On Monique Péan’s website she says that her aim is “…creating sustainable fine jewellery inspired by indigenous cultures that is socially and environmentally conscious”. As Péan’s pieces are hand made they take time to produce and are, therefore, unlikely to cause the mammoth ivory stocks to run low anytime soon. However, mammoth ivory is as sustainable as coal…not at all. Seen as the mammoth have been extinct for at least 4500 years there is no on-going replacement of the material that is being dug up and as demand increases the impact on the Siberian environment will worsen. As the shallower buried mammoth ivory pieces lessen those hunting will have to go deeper thus churning up Siberia’s tundra.

Péan’s two collections are born out of a want to do good for underprivileged communities but we here at Opulent Ethics are not convinced that Péan can call herself a sustainable fine jeweller. Yes Péan uses recycled gold and certified conflict free diamonds from Australia and donates a percentage of her profits to charities aimed at improving the lives of the communities which inspire her designs but other pieces use walrus ivory, caribou horn and whale baleen. These animal bi-products are not in the normal toolkit of someone who considers themselves sustainable.

We here at Opulent Ethics are surprised that Michelle Obama, who comes under so much public scrutiny and who influences public style, has chosen to wear an item whose connotations are so negative. Whilst Monique Péan represents herself as a do-gooder in the jewellery industry we would not consider wearing or using the risqué materials that Péan does and we are surprised that Michelle Obama has decided to endorse her products.     

In answer to whether mammoth ivory deserves the reputation of elephant ivory, Opulent Ethics believes that it would be preferable to use mammoth ivory instead of elephant, walrus or hippo ivory but as there are other alternatives we would always choose not to.

Vegetable ivory is a new up and coming material. It comes from the seeds of an Amazonian palm tree and really is a sustainable material. Leju is one company which produce vegetable ivory products using natural dyes on the Tagua or palm nut and natural materials within their designs. Whilst the seeds are not comparable in size to any type of animal ivory the colour and hardness of the material is similar making it perfect to work with. Vegetable ivory also sustains local economies where it is found and supplies a valid alternative to cutting down rainforests or hunting elephants.

Tagua or Palm Nut