Andres Moreno walking past a display of energy-saving fluorescent light bulbs at a Wal-Mart in Secaucus, N.J. (Credit: Emile Wamsteker for The New York Times)Stephanie Rosenbloom had a story in yesterday’s paper on Wal-Mart’s plan to cut environmental and social harms from the operations of the thousands of companies that supply its products. The announcement was made at a huge “sustainability summit” hosted by the world’s biggest retailer in China.
The story is well worth reading and reflects a growing recognition that the full chain of impacts of making and selling goods matters. Wal-Mart’s challenge is to see if it can limit its relationships to suppliers
that can achieve certain standards — while keeping prices low.
Wal-Mart has been working to improve its image and lighten its environmental impact for several years now. Of course, as some campaigners against
over-consumption have pointed out, Wal-Mart is still selling consumerism even as it pledges to cut the social and environmental costs of making the stuff in its stores. Can we have it all? Can we have cheap shirts
and disposable batteries in a world heading toward 9 billion people seeking a decent life? I guess we’ll find out one way or the other.
Deda Chicken Processing Plant, Dehui City, Jilin Province, 2005(Photo: Edward Burtynsky)
I encourage you to have a look back at a relevant post I did a few months back. It describes a documentary called “Manufactured Landscapes” (click on the image above for a trailer) and a forgotten admonition from Adam Smith, best known for growth economics, about the prospect that this model of advancement would lead to “the endless pursuit of unnecessary things.”
For an unconventional look at consumption and its consequences, check out “The Story of Stuff,” a popular film hosted by Annie Leonard, a longtime campaigner against excessive waste.