If I may, I wanted to ask you for a favor…you see, we at Wal-Mart are trying something new right now. Over the past 3 years we have worked to build dialogue about sustainability between Wal-Mart and a large number of groups. NGO’s, governments around the world, academics, suppliers to Wal-Mart, our own people, and more have been included. It is our hope now to begin bringing our customers into the conversation.
In stores and in the media right now there are a number of messages being shared; all with a common theme…small changes in how you purchase make a big difference when you are a part of 200 million customers. Without being preachy or overbearing, we hope to share with our customers this month some of the products that we have learned about. These products aren’t perfect, but they have taken a step toward becoming better for the earth and for society; and some of their stories are tremendous.
Take note of new products like Sam’s Choice Coffee which is fair trade certified, rainforest alliance certified, or organic at a substantial value; or the new mulch made out of recycled tires; or the t-shirts made from transitional cotton. For those of you who don’t know, it takes 3 years for a farmers field to transition to being certified organic. During that time, the farmer treats the cotton field the same way he/she would an organic field, but gets no premium for the cotton. This is a burden on the farmer that creates disincentives to moving to organic. I am proud of our apparel team’s commitment to helping these farmers, such that Wal-Mart is now the largest single purchaser of transitional cotton.
Now, the favor…I hope you’ll go stop by your local Wal-Mart, keep an eye out for the ads, and let me know what you think. I would love your opinion.