Then again, if you happen to be Wal-Mart, you might just use Earth Day as a pretext for a national "merchandising and marketing campaign."
It's true--three weeks ago, Wal-Mart gleefully reported its intention to print nearly one third of a billion pages of "green" advertising this month, all inviting shoppers to splurge during it's "Earth Month" marketing blitz. Wasting a mountain of wood pulp in the name of sustainability is a surprisingly cynical move, even for Wal-Mart, but it is just a symptom of a broader problem--Wal-Mart is greenwashing, and it's getting away with it.
In spite of all the "green" hype, Wal-Mart's business model is linked to serious environmental problems. The long-anticipated Wal-Mart sustainability report cited a significant global increase in CO2 emissions in 2006, after the company's green campaign began. Worse still, at a recent conference, Wal-Mart's CEO Lee Scott flatly declared "we are not green," taking his audience aback. Still, despite the facts, some national and local news outlets continue to buy Wal-Mart's sustainability spin.
Let's set the record straight. Today, on Earth Day, let's ensure that America understands the truth about Wal-Mart's "green" hype.
Write your local newspaper about Wal-Mart's sustaibility swindle
Frankly, we would rather have Wal-Mart hyping environmental sustainability than fighting food safety regulations or port security measures. At the same time, we can not sit idly while Wal-Mart uses slick, multi-million dollar marketing campaigns to mislead the American people.
Lee Scott agrees: Wal-Mart is not the "green" corporation depicted in Wal-Mart's advertising. This time, let's give Lee a hand. Help us debunk the myth of the sustainable Wal-Mart.
