Letter Exchange between boycott supporter
Annraoi O and Blake Nordstrom, President of Nordstrom,
a U.S. department store chain that is “committed
to social responsibility.”
From: Annraoi O.
Sent: Sunday, October 30, 2011 7:08 AM
To: Nordstrom, Blake
Cc: Black, Laurie; Tritton, Mark
Subject: Nordstrom and CSR
Dear Blake:
Thank you for forwarding my email
to Tara Darrow, asking her to respond on your
behalf. Tara has indeed responded very promptly,
reiterating the line that Nordstrom has "no
plans at this time to change our relationship
with Ahava".
I have asked her if it was your personal view
that Nordstrom should continue to build a relationship
with a company that operates a mineral/mud excavation
site in the Occupied West Bank, in contravention
of the Geneva Conventions. She may or may not
pass on this question to you.
Although Ahava has denied this consistently,
the Israeli government (specifically, Amos Wagner,
Second Lieutenant, Public Inquiries
Officer, The Prime Minister's Office) has recently
confirmed that "in the jurisdiction of
the Megilot Dead Sea Regional Council there
is only one site that practices mining or quarrying.
In this site, mud mining permissions were given
to the company Dead Sea Laboratories Ltd."
Megilot is in the Occupied West Bank, and Dead
Sea Laboratories is
Ahava. Amos Wagner further confirms that as
of the date of his letter
(26 April 2011), "the mentioned site is
operational today, and is used, as said, for
the mining of mud".
Nordstrom last conducted an audit of Ahava's
operations BEFORE Amos Wagner's confirmation
that Ahava conducts excavation operations within
the Occupied West Bank. Surely, it is time for
Nordstrom to re-audit
Ahava's operations?
Best regards, Annraoi
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On 31 Oct 2011, at 21:03, "Nordstrom,
Blake" wrote:
I just met with Tara once again regarding the
communications you've
had with our company of late concerning Ahava.
Though I appreciate your recognition of their
efforts and sincere desire to answer your questions,
I'm sorry that we appear to have a different
view on this situation. Please know it's our
sincere desire as merchants to conduct our business
in the manner our customers and employees alike
would expect. We're not lawyers, but we want
to abide by all laws and regulations, as well
as being able to stand behind our goods and
services in all cases.
Please know that we have spent more time and
energy on this particular vendor and product
than any other I can think of. Though we carry
literally thousands of different vendors and
this particular one is very small, we have gone
to great lengths from some inquiries awhile
back from some concerned customers like yourself
that raised questions as to its origin and production.
Laurie and her team, along with Linda and Tara,
worked with Robert Sari, our general counsel,
along with other representatives outside of
Nordstrom, to conduct a review of this product.
They are satisfied that they are in compliance,
so we continue to carry the product under that
information. This is not something we take lightly,
and will continue to monitor it.
That said, I did tell Tara on behalf of Nordstrom
to let you know that we will probably have to
agree to disagree at this point, given that
you may view this differently.
Respectfully,
Blake Nordstrom
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From: Annraoi O
Sent: Tuesday, November 01, 2011 1:37 AM
To: Nordstrom, Blake
Cc: Black, Laurie; Tritton, Mark; Darrow, Tara;
Peffer, Linda; Sari,
Robert
Subject: Re: Nordstrom and CSR
Blake:
Thank you for taking the time to respond personally
to an 80-year-old man on the far side of the
pond. Even if your response was not the one
I hoped for, I do accept that you and your company
have spent time investigating the bona fides
of Ahava, and that I am unlikely to persuade
you to change your mind.
Can you answer one final question? It will be
my last - I promise - as I am genuinely confused
by Nordstrom's stance on this issue.
My difficultly is in understanding how Ahava
is in compliance with Nordstrom's CSR policies.
It seems to me that either:
A) Nordstrom does not accept that Ahava has
an active mud excavation site in the Megillot
region of the Occupied West Bank, which is in
contravention of the Geneva Conventions which
forbid the exploitation of natural resources
in occupied territories, or
B) Nordstrom does accept that Ahava is in contravention
of the Geneva
Conventions but its CSR policy is more focused
on employment conditions and ethics, and that
Ahava is therefore technically compliant.
I trust you can probably see my difficulty here.
Many thanks again for your time and your prompt
response.
Respectfully, Annraoi
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On 1 Nov 2011, at 22:39, "Nordstrom,
Blake" wrote:
On behalf of our team, let me try to reiterate
that we have strived to answer your questions
to the best of our ability. This matter is complicated
because of political ramifications as well,
which as merchants is not something we're going
to weigh in on.
We've done all that we can to make sure that
this is a legally compliant product under US
law and meets our standards including human
rights as well.
Sincerely,
Blake Nordstrom
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From: Annraoi O
Date: 3 November 2011 07:52:55 GMT
To: "Nordstrom, Blake"
Subject: Re: Nordstrom and CSR
Blake:
I have to accept your position, even though
I fail to understand the logic of it.
Thank you for your responses. I will not email
you or the Nordstrom CSR team again but I do
hope that, in time, Nordstrom will embrace a
CSR policy that is genuinely socially responsible.
Regards, Annraoi
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