Is Wal-Mart greenwashing Americans?
Sustainable New Jersey, a certification program that has gained the interest of both Oakland and Wyckoff, is a green initiative promoted by New Jersey’s League of Municipalities and Rutgers University, amongst other partners.
The gist of the certification program is for municipalities to implement various programs designed to,”Support your local economy and use community resources… practice responsible environmental management and conservation…embrace social equity and fairness.” In addition to being certified as a sustainable community, any of NJ’s 560 municipalities can become eligible to apply for a portion of the $220,000 available from the Sustainable Jersey Small Grants program.
The Sustainable Jersey Small Grants program is funded by Wal-Mart as part of their marketing effort to promote a greener, more socially conscious image. The Environmental Defense Fund, a legal environmental-activist organization, has partnered with Wal-Mart to audit some the new environmental initiatives to cut their corporate carbon foot print, saving money and saving the environment. Many other environmentalists are applauding the world’s largest retailer for pursuing a more environmentally sensitive approach to their operations, but other’s apply the term “green washing” to Wal-Mart’s new initiatives.
Green washing is a term used to describe a marketing strategy whereby a corporation, or any entity, seeks to improve it’s public image by latching on to the popularity of environmental issues. The argument made by those questioning the embrace of Wal-Mart is that the company’s business model is in itself unsustainable.
While American shoppers, especially in a major recession, appreciate the low prices offered by Wal-Mart, the bargains come with a serious price tag. Wal-Mart’s low prices are reliant on the low wages paid to labor in other countries; the loss of manufacturing jobs in America shows a direct correlation to increased manufacturing jobs in countries from which Wal-Mart imports its good.
China/USA Trade - click to enlarge
For the month of April, 2010, the United States exported 6,591 million dollars worth of goods to China and imported 25,181 million for a deficit of over 71 million for that month alone. This a trend many say is unsustainable for the United States. Manufacturers in the United States are hard pressed to compete with overseas operations where workers make an average of $200 a month, and where factories are subjected to limited government regulations and over sight.
The Frontline PBS special, Is Wal-Mart Good for America, raises many questions not addressed by environmental groups eager to win over the giant retailer as a partner. Critics describing Wal-Mart’s new environmental epiphany as green washing also point to the company’s history of labor problem’s in the United States and world wide. The allegations and court cases range from sex discrimination to child labor. In 2006, Norway sold $415 million worth of Wal-mart shares, citing “serious” and “systematic” human rights violations.
Many economists describe Wal-Mart’s pursuit for lower prices, lower production costs, and lower wages to be a “race to the bottom”; certainly not a goal that leads to the sustainability of a vibrant, diverse economy.
Additional Reading
The Man Who Said No to Wal-Mart
Walmart Sex Discrimination Suit
Putting Wal-Mart’s Green Moves in Context