Wal-Mart Dilemma

[iamjoy]

I don't shop at WalMart, the reasons should be apparent. But now, it seems like WalMart is actually doing something good.

Some company (in Nebraska, I think) had found a way to make polymers (plastic) out of corn. And WalMart has started packaging some of their produce in these new polymers.

Now, I know the ideal would be to go to a farmer's market and get fresh, locally grown produce, but that is not a valid option for me at this time. I get it in the grocery store.

So, the dilemma is - is WalMart's use of more enivornmentally friendly packaging reason enough to shop there?

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

1. No, Just Choosing You Want To Is Enough Reason.

If you want to buy your produce from there, go for it. :)

[Solon]

2. No, you forgot about their stealing of OT from employees...

the Outsourced slave labor used on most of their products, along with their generally anti-worker policies.

[billbuckhead]

3. No

Starvation would be.

[PADemD]

4. Not Even Starvation

is a good enough reason to shop at WalMart.  I'd rather eat
dirt.

[Joe Fields]

11. I've had to eat dirt before. I'd rather shop at WalMart

[newyawker99]

18. Hi PADemD!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Redstone]

5. Maybe not, but it's your decision.

Only you can decide the tipping point. Nobody else.

And whatever your decision is, it's yours, and therefore valid.

Redstone

[spindrifter]

6. Please don't do it! Take reusable bags

to your local store for your produce. WalM*rt is trying to lure people by their so-called new "green" ventures--they are also doing something "organic." I so not believe them.

[mongo]

7. Well, when Walmart is operating legally

and using business practices that may not be good but are still LEGAL,

Is the problem with Walmart, or the labor and trade laws in this country?

[hyphenate]

8. Every step is a good step

I have to shop at Walmart for a lot of things, because I'm on a limited monthly income, but I find more and more that Walmart is turning things around in many ways.

If a person can give them some encouragement to continue their march toward becoming a more green company, I say, great. I shop whereever I can afford to go, but if others do make a conscious choice and find items at Walmart to praise them for, they should do it. Nobody acts in a vacuum, and that includes Walmart. They've been criticized so much for some things that they're not sure what steps they might take until people tell them straight out.

[tech3149]

9. Don't ever think WalMart does anything that doesn't affect the P/L ratio

I'm sure they've done their research and know that they have to get away from petroleum based plastics and move to something that will have a more controlled cost. I salute their effort but understand that it is totally self-serving.

[iamjoy]

16. That's Actually Encouraging

not that WalMart always looks at the p/l ration (don't all corporations) but if this packaging is cheaper, will other companies start using it too? Or did the manufacturer of this corn polymer give WalMart a discount in hopes that other companies would be pressured to follow along?

Corporations are by their very nature ammoral. Too many Conswervatives won't admit this, too many Liberals don't understand it.

[Mr_Spock]

10. Do whatever you want

I would rather cut off my arm than shop at a place that is very damaging to America in so many ways, but each person has to make the decision based on thier own circumstances.

I'm very proud of my 2 years of not darkening their door.

[Joe Fields]

12. Obviously you can afford to shop elsewhere.

Many people cannot. Therin lies the dilemna.

[Mr_Spock]

13. I also found that it was not cheaper to shop there

Once I had bought most of the "junk" I ever needed there, the prices for the mainstream items were never less & sometimes more than other stores like Target & Costco.

Believe what you want though - if you think they are cheaper, that's all that matters.

[Massacure]

14. Only the stuff at the end of the isles is cheaper.

They put the cheap stuff at the end of the isles to make it look like their products are cheaper. As you go into the isles, the prices aren't all that different from other retail chains.

[Mr_Spock]

15. Yep, I compared prices for 6 months before finally deciding to boycott

It just wasn't worth it - the stuff that was cheaper was junk I didn't need anyway - I fell prey to the WalMart syndrome. I spent a lot less money on higher quality merchandise with less waste after I stopped shopping there. I don't miss the horrible people in that place either - what price for my sanity?

[sendero]

21. Here's the thing..

... on general merchandise, I would agree with you, Wal-mart is not really much if any less better than any number of other stores.

But on groceries, it is not even a contest.

I have 3 teenaged sons and we go through a lot of food around here. The wife and I go to Costco about every 2 weeks and buy everything that they have that we need. But they don't have everything, not even close, and some things are not practical in bulk.

The rest of our groceries we get at Wal-mart (and Whole Foods). I've compared prices again and again to the other retailers in the area, and Wal-mart doesn't just beat them, they destroy them. A jar of salsa that costs 3.99 at Albertsons costs 2.47 at Wal-mart. Cereal, eggs, frozen foods, you name it, Wal-mart is 15-30% less.

I won't buy meat at Wal-mart, I find their meat to be awful at any price. For packaged and processed foods though, the prices ARE low and low enough that I, not rolling in cash at the present time, cannot pass it up.

And FWIW, just as an aside - I have a sister and a nephew who work at Wal-mart (not in the retail store). They love their jobs. That is not to say that I don't agree that Wal-mart has some abusive policies, I think they do. Just not in every job, every store, every manager, etc.

[deFaultLine]

17. One second there

You think that a corn based polymer is a good reason to go there? Why? Because it uses less petroleum or something?

Walmart products are inferior and the prices are not that much better. All else being equal, you will pay more in the long run for anything bought at a Walmart.

[Deja Q]

19. Desperate times, my friend.

I go to Sams Club (costco is too far away). Mostly for food, but there have been other items.

BTW: I've price-shopped at Target. They sell the same items as walmart. Especially the store-brand stuff. The actual gear is IDENTICAL. Target charges 25% more than Walmart.

Whatever walmart does to ensure lower prices, other stores ought to follow suit.

or does walmart have contracts that are predatory, like how Microsoft had during the 80s and 90s before they got hounded in 1994 (by then it was too late so they acquiesced.)

[iamjoy]

22. Yes, WalMart Is Predatory

Or, so I've heard. They demand lower prices from the manufacturers based on their bulk volume. They sell some of the most popular items at a loss to destroy their competition.

I don't have statistics to back this up, just stuff I've heard in the how WalMart destroys America stories. BUT, I do remember about ten years ago WalMart used to be all about selling stuff made in America, and they'd have signs near their products talking about the factory in some unheard of (usually Southern) town and they'd tell how many jobs it created. Or they'd have commericals talking about it.

When was the last time you heard about manufacturing jobs created in America by WalMart?

[cally]

20. They are also moving into green buildings

which I'm happy and excited about. Still, I think they are doing these things to bring back customers like us who have boycotted them for social/political reasons. I don't fault anyone who doesn't have a choice but I will not shop there. Walmart has to change many more practices before I'll go there. I find it very encouraging that Walmart is trying to appear more progressive. The boycott has been noticed.