Wal-Mart Gets Healthy and Goes Green!

Interesting news from Wal-Mart (if true, and if they hold their suppliers to these standards). No other single retailer could pull this off - if they do manage to make these changes, it could affect the way China does business with all countries, across all types of manufacturing. It would definitely be good for the consumer, and better (than now) for the environment. Considering the magnitude of their supplier base, a 2-year roll-out seems aggressive. They have already pressured their suppliers into certain environmental improvements (well, they've turned out to be good for the environment, but the driver was cost savings.) For example, the smaller bottles of laundry detergent that you're seeing on store shelves, thank Wal-Mart. They needed to reduce the cost of overseas freight per piece, so they directed their suppliers to concentrate their liquid and package it in something smaller..... The power of Wal-Mart....

Wal-Mart Imposes New Safety, Environmental Standards on China Suppliers
The world's biggest retailer, Wal-Mart, last week announced strict new corporate social responsibility guidelines for the Chinese companies that produce the products that it sells. The new guidelines, which will raise quality control standards and adherence requirements for national environmental laws for suppliers, were implemented in the wake of ongoing quality and consumer-safety concerns with Chinese-produced goods.

Wal-Mart is viewing these measures as a way to allay consumer fears over the safety of Chinese products on their shelves. The company stated that they will not buy from companies that do not comply with the new practice standards. Companies dealing with Wal-Mart will also be required to list the names and addresses of all subcontractors – the small factories where quality and safety concerns can often originate.

The new process will begin on Jan. 1 and will be phased in over two years. Additionally, Wal-Mart is holding suppliers to increased energy efficiency measures in hopes of improving energy efficiency by 2012.