Catching up on the Elle magazine's Green Issue (my hairdresser was late) , I now realize that recycling is so much more than newspapers.

California jewerler Suzanne Felsten is introducing a line of oceanic-themed cocktail rings made out of recycled 18-karat-gold.

Of course! Why didn't we think of this before?

By mixing rose, yellow, and white gold scraps filed off during the typical design process and fashioning them into prickly sea urchins--natch--the Los Angeles native hopes to remind people how important it is to be mindful of natural resources and minerals.

But not, apparently, their greenbacks: The peach moonstone ring Elle  features goes for $4,100 a pop. The mag is filled with similarly "important" "reminders," from organic cotton t-shirts to "vintage vegan leather" bags (?), to "cruelty-free mittens and hats [made] from baby alpacas that died of natural causes in Peru."   

"Natural causes"? Um, how do they know? Is there in Peru a baby alpaca coroner who certifies crulety-free pelts for the American shopper? 

The point, of course, is that the shopper  believes. She believes in recycling 18-karat gold shards; she believes in luxe fabrics made from bamboo and environmentally friendly dyes; she believes in cruelty-free mittens and for good reason. It transforms  the shopping experience into an act of what can only be described as religious devotion.

It's perfect the sale's pitch: You can have your peach moonstone ring and sanctimony, too.