ipl-logo

Wal-Mart: Greenwashing Controversy

1112 Words5 Pages

In February 2017, a press release stated that the Attorney General filed action against Walmart for saying that Walmart’s plastic products were both “100 % recyclable and biodegradable.” The Attorney General alleged that Walmart was in violation of California law, which states that it is illegal to label a food or plastic drink container as biodegradable when in fact is it not, as plastic takes thousands of years to break down and biodegrade. Walmart was found guilty of making an untruthful and false environmental marketing claim, also known as “greenwashing”. Defined on Investopedia, greenwashing refers to when a company, government, or other group promotes green-based environmental initiatives or images but actually operates in a way that is damaging to the environment or in an opposite manner to the goal of the announced initiatives. The international conglomerate Walmart operates over 11,700 stores world wide. In the wake of a low ratings in 2005, former CEO Lee Scott announced that "every company has a responsibility to …show more content…

Environmental groups are accusing Walmart of failing to meet multiple published sustainability goals, despite persistent promises to invest in renewable energy. According to author Mark Galluci, “most of Walmart’s domestic renewable projects are in areas where renewables are already abundant and relatively cheap, such as California. In the states where wind or solar would have the biggest difference on the grid, like Missouri, Illinois, Ohio and Texas, the retailer has virtually no clean power projects in place.” Walmart’s investment into domestic renewable projects does exist, but they do not exist in places where it matters most. Walmart’s green business model prioritize profits over the environment, the same way the company prioritized lying about biodegradable plastics for

Open Document