Some more letters you can write… if you’re so inclined

My Letter.

Walmart has done a lot recently that should be commended. They’ve begun to open new stores based off sustianable design and their now pushing for a host of new services.

Qoute:

Wal-Mart CEO H. Lee Scott announced today that his company, long a
target of activists of pretty much every stripe, was going to be paying
a lot closer attention to the environmental and labor standards of its
overseas supply chain. In a speech on Thursday at a conference on
retail trends held by the University of Arkansas’ Sam M. Walton College
of Business, Scott said:

The factories in China are going to end up having to be
held up to the same standards as the factories in the U.S. There will
be a day of reckoning for retailers. If somebody wakes up and finds out
that children that are down the river from that factory where you save
three cents a foot in the cost of garden hose are developing cancers at
significant rates — so that the American public can save three cents a
foot — those things won’t be tolerated, and they shouldn’t be
tolerated.

So while it certiantly has it flaws, some things are worth encouraging. And yes I know they have low wages and are anti-union etc. but so is Whole Foods. So here’s my letter:

Dear Walmart,

Just wanted to write to say that I’m impressed with Walmart’s commitment to build better and more energy efficient stores and also your recent ideas regarding increasing labor conditions in China while taking a more ethical stance towards the production of goods you stock and investing in women and minorities in the workforce. I also was glad to hear about your aid to Katrina victims. What I was wondering though is Walmat going to release a sustianability report on it’s new efforts? Both Nike and Gap release these. To qoute Joel Makower on Worldchanging.com

“sustainability report detailing its environmental and social impacts
around the globe, demonstrating that the company fully understands its
impacts, has a plan to continually measure, track, and improve them —
and to report annually the results. That’s the minimum standard these
days for a socially responsible company, and once-reviled companies
like Nike and Gap have made huge strides in turning around their
negative social images through such means.”

 I’m sure a lot of people would like to keep track of Walmart’s efforts to better the working conditions in Asian factories while reducing energy consumption and run-off from it’s stores.

Kind Regards,

A

you can e-mail your comments to:

ethics@wal-mart.com

Technorati Tags: walmart, politics