On Climate, What Walmart Says vs. What It Does

Date: 1 May 2013 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Walmart has been generating some impressive-sounding headlines on the environment lately. But a closer examination of what Walmart is and isn’t doing reveals a company that in fact lags its peers on renewable energy and is contributing a large and growing volume of climate change pollution to the atmosphere.… Read More

Why Walmart’s Death Grip on Our Food System Is Intensifying Poverty

Date: 27 Mar 2013 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

When Michelle Obama visited a Walmart in Springfield, Missouri, a few weeks ago to praise the company’s efforts to sell healthier food, she did not say why she chose a store in Springfield of all cities. But, in ways that Obama surely did not intend, it was a fitting choice. This Midwestern city provides a chilling look at where Walmart wants to take our food system. … Read More

Survey Finds Independent Businesses Benefit from “Buy Local First” Campaigns, But Challenges Loom

Date: 6 Feb 2013 | posted in: Press Release, Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

ILSR’s annual survey has found that independent businesses experienced solid revenue growth in 2012, buoyed in part by “buy local first” initiatives. But the survey also documented challenges facing independent businesses, most notably an increase in “showrooming” and competition from online retailers, tax and subsidy policies that favor their big competitors, difficulty obtaining loans, and a customer base still reeling from the recession.… Read More

Bangladesh Fire Shows Why We Can’t Trust Walmart to Green Its Supply Chain

Date: 20 Dec 2012 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

If Walmart will not pay 3 percent more for basic fire safety, if it readily abandons factories when cheaper production can be had elsewhere, if it declines even to come clean about where its goods are made – then how can we buy Walmart’s claim that it will transform factories across Asia into models of sustainability? … Read More

Local Revival: Building a Decentralized Economy

Date: 14 Dec 2012 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Local farms, independent retailers, and community banks are all experiencing newfound public support. While these trends are encouraging, local businesses still account for only a small share of the economy. In this 15-minute talk, given in May 2012, ILSR’s Stacy Mitchell presents a compelling case for moving local enterprises from the economy’s margins to its mainstream.… Read More

Paying It Homeward

Date: 6 Dec 2012 | posted in: Retail | 0 Facebooktwitterredditmail

Metroland, December 6, 2012 Are buy-local initiatives having a positive impact on local economies? To many, the answer is a resounding “yes” Sharon Fenno knew that many consumers have been rethinking their shopping strategies in recent years to be more supportive of locally owned businesses, but she was still surprised by something that happened recently in … Read More

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