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Wal-Mart: Greenwashing Controversy

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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

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“Is Wal-Mart Good For America?” affords viewers a thoughtful analysis into the dubious ethical methodologies employed by the Wal-Mart Corporation. Unquestionably, Wal-Mart is not infallible and their strict adherence to low prices has pushed other companies out of business. For example, Rubbermaid, as mentioned in the documentary, fell into Wal-Mart’s paradoxical low pricing trap and forfeited into a merger with a competitor.

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Similar to Loblaw’s, Walmart uses a board of committee members who meet annually to evaluate climate change risks that can impact the company. The process on how Walmart integrates these ideas into business is more complex and detailed with it’s three core elements; opportunity, community and sustainability. Walmart also considers climate change on the corporate level, risk assessment and business energy level. In considering how much more complete Walmart’s response is in comparison to Loblaw’s, it is fitting that Walmart received a higher carbon disclosure ranking of 92% (Gomez, 2015). Metro’s complete carbon disclosure project, was not made public, but company scored an 89% which was higher than Loblaw’s score.

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“To be a leading environmentally responsible retailer through focused resource stewardship by our associates and venders” (Kohl's Corporation, 2016). Many green initiatives have been made to support this mission, including recycled content gift boxes, restroom papers, merchandise bags, office supplies and an outstanding number of 700 Energy Star labeled stores. (Kohl's Corporation,

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234 Words | 1 Pages

"Is Wal-Mart Good for America?" gives a provocative examination of the effect Wal-Mart has had on the U.S. economy. The documentary highlights the changing connection amongst makers and the purported "big box" retailers, exemplified by Wal-Mart, that has added to the insolvency of some American organizations and a developing unemployment rate. While Wal-Mart supporters tout the upsides of one-stop, ease shopping, others are frightened at both the outsourcing that has made these low costs conceivable and how extensive retailers influence littler, neighborhood organizations. Cutting edge inspects the champs and the failures as it archives how: Worldwide retailers are superceding makers in settling on choices about item quality, sort and cost.

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Moreover, the company has established a dedicated Emergency Operations Center that coordinates with government agencies and non-profit organizations to provide timely assistance during crises. Additionally, Walmart has recognized the importance of environmental sustainability. Walmart has implemented various initiatives to reduce its carbon footprint and promote eco-friendly practices. In 2005, the company launched its Sustainability 360 strategy, with ambitious goals to achieve zero waste, operate on 100% renewable energy, and sell sustainable products (Walmart, 2022). Walmart has invested heavily in renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power, aiming to power its operations sustainably.

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Walmart was founded in the summer of 1962 by Kingfisher, Oklahoma native Sam Walton. Although Walton’s original vision for the store was relatively modest, the half century since its founding has seen Walmart morph into one of the biggest companies in the world. Today headed by one Doug McMillon, Walmart boasts more than 5000 stores in the United States of America alone and employs more than 1.5 million people. Walmart is undoubtedly an American institution, yet each Walmart store feels like its own little country. Walmart seems to have its own laws and customs and the people who shop their on a regular basis appear almost primitive in their behavior as they go about raiding the store’s shelves and wrestling with fellow customers for discount flat screen televisions and bulk packages of two-ply toilet paper.

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Green has become the new “ big thing”. People are taking precautions and finding ways to become sustainable. In a capitalist society like ours, big market strategists have implemented green marketing tactics such as greenwashing in order to push society to consume more.

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“Too many businesses and environmental groups have led us to believe that if we buy the correct collection of products, we can save the planet.” (Kendra. 2012). Kendra in her book ‘Greenwashed: Why We Can’t Buy Our Way to a Green Planet’ critiques the message of - buying green can help eradicate greenwashing. Over years, we as consumers have become aware of the environmental and health impacts of the products we use in our lives, especially consumables like food, medicines, cosmetics, etc. The idea of having a lesser carbon footprint has become an emerging trend.

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The company that I have chosen to report on is Whole Foods Market. I am So fascinated about how a retail company could be so sold out on green marketing. It is a company that sells highest quality organic and natural products as retailers. This company does not lay claim to 100% track record in principles of sustainability but it has incorporated sustainability and ethical practices by employing what is known as the 3 Rs representing Reduce, Reuse and Recycle in their effort to promote the golden rule for environment stewardship. I am impressed that Whole Foods Market reduces the impact of how its operation affects the earth and and its resources through the use of paperless ordering system, a measure that reduces paper waste, carpooling

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Whole Foods appear to have an admirable and active viewpoint in sustainability, corporate social responsibility and environmental awareness. Whole Foods themselves state that, from their inception in 1980, ethical and environmentally friendly policies have been integrated into their operations at both a local and company wide level (2017.) Perhaps what is most impressive about their policy is that it is not just a case of making token gestures; their policies are apparent in their everyday business operations, and are extended to, and expected of, their employees. After all, Whole Foods believes that in an ideal future, companies, governments and institutions will all be held accountable for their actions (2017.)

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This term is utilized when the allocation of spending and time advertising being “green” far exceeds what is spent actually on environmentally sound practices. The Federal Trade Commission is the governing body that has the right to prosecute companies or individuals that are found providing false and misleading advertisements. In Kamala D. Harris v. Enso Plastics, LLC, Aquamantra, Inc., Balance Water Company LLC, the California Attorney General filed an action against a producer of water bottles that claimed the bottles were biodegradable and recyclable. It was found that the bottles were neither biodegradable and recyclable, a direct violation of the California Business and Professions Code that prohibits untruthful, deceptive, or misleading environmental marketing claims and the Federal Trade Commission’s Guides for the Use of Environmental

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1215 Words | 5 Pages

‘Is Wal-Mart Good for America?’ On PBS Frontline, May 11, 2015 ‘Is Wal-Mart Good for America?’ is a documentary that examines the relationship between Wal-Mart’s rapid growth and its impact on the US economy ever since it blossomed in trade productivity in the mid 20th century. The documentary, published on February 2014 by PBS Frontline, conveys a deep understanding of how Wal-Mart changed the living standards of many Americans and took consumerism and retail logistics in the U.S. to another level; by cutting costs through offshore outsourcing to China and employing cheap Chinese labor. The documentary focuses on the changing relationship between big retailers and manufacturers and the transition in pricing and decision-making.

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1475 Words | 6 Pages

Most of the firms now use sustainability report of Wal-Mart as guideline or model for their own report

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705 Words | 3 Pages

Greenwash is used to depict the practice of organizations over proclaiming the natural functionality of their products that can't be substantiated (Parguel et al. 2011). Greenwash may sabotage the entire environmental development in the market (Hamann and Kapelus 2004). Turnbull et al. (2000) characterize consumer confusion as consumer inability to build up a right understanding of different features of an product or services amid the data preparing process. Mitchell and Papavassiliou (1999) says that consumer disarray emerges from three vital sources, which are overchoice of items, product similarity , and vague information.

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"We are not in business to make maximum profit for our shareholders. We are in business...to serve society. Profit is our reward for doing it well. If business does not serve society, society will not long tolerate our profits or even our existence." Kenneth Dayton, former Chairman of the Dayton-Hudson Corporation 1.

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