Deidre's Page

How do unethical business decisions happen? A friend of mine Dr. Robert Hoyk, along with his co-author Paul Hersey have written a book to help business executives and everyone else make ethical business decisions when under pressure. The Ethical Executive describes 45 traps that people can fall into that can lead to making the wrong decision. The work of these two authors show that even if we have… Continue

I was profoundly touched by my experience at the Fair Trade Jewelry Conference. I wrote it up for Luxist and I was really impressed by the entrepreneurs who spoke at conference. They are helping to prove that authentic luxury is possible, that things that are beautiful such as gemstones and jewelry can be truly, deeply beautiful by helping out the countries and communities they come from.

I saw Russell Simmons speak this morning at the JCK Jewelry Show in Las Vegas about his Diamond Empowerment Fund. He is funding a school in South Africa through the sales of his diamond jewelry. While I'm not a big fan of cause jewelry like his green bead bracelet I think his overall message is inspiring. I'm noticing that the jewelry industry at large is starting to consider the… Continue

Finally finished Deluxe by Dana Thomas. I have to say I found myself a bit disappointed by the way she ended it. I really thought she might focus a little more on the good that some luxury brands are doing (she does seem to like the way Chanel and Hermes are doing things) and about the potential for authentic and sustainable luxury. Instead, it was more of an old-fashioned muckraker book which was definitely interesting especially in terms of the way various goods are manufactured. It was… Continue

I attended the Luxury Summit this week and one of the key focus points in the program was exploring the new philanthropy. More and more philanthropy is both a way to explore personal passions. The new philanthropists are businesspeople who expect nonprofits to be run along the same principles as for profit businesses. Buy a t-shirt, save the world? It's perhaps not the most efficient… Continue