Do you shop your conscience?

You know, Walmart is so bad, the health care issue isn't even a blip on my radar! I'd refuse to shop there even if their healthcare plan was phenomenal.

Here's a sample of what I've learned about them.

Wal-Mart Gets an 'F'; New Retailer Scorecard Grades Companies on Sweatshop Practices

6/1/2004

WASHINGTON, June 1 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Co-op America, a national consumer education nonprofit organization, has issued a Retailer Scorecard on labor standards and practices for eight large US retailers, Wal-Mart, got the only 'F' due to its documented business transactions with sweatshop factories in Central America and South East Asia. JC Penny, Target, and Sears got 'D's, while Target got a 'D plus' and Federated (including: Bloomingdale's and Macy's) and May's (including: David's Bridal and Hecht's) received 'C's. (Scorecard located at http://www.sweatshops.org.)

"The Retailer Scorecard gives consumers a summary of how companies rate when it comes to labor standards," says Alisa Gravitz, Co-op America Executive Director. "The eight large companies all rated average or below because of the sweatshop practices of their suppliers. Businesses don't have to use sweatshop labor to stay competitive, over 80 percent of consumers say they would pay more for products made under 'good' conditions."

Wal-Mart, according to the Los Angeles Times and Fast Company, forces its suppliers to continually lower prices, and to survive, the suppliers often move their US operation overseas. Workers at Wal-Mart supply factories in Bangladesh and China say that Wal- Mart's push to lower prices drives factory owners to engage in labor law violations, which are easily concealed from auditors.

Wal-Mart suppliers' labor abuses include:

-- Tarrant Apparel Group, in Mexico, where 500 employees were fired for trying to unionize.

-- Confecciones Ninos, in El Salvador, where workers were denied overtime wages, drinking water, bathroom visits, and sick days. (note)

-- Wins Facilities, in San Francisco, California, where 200 garment workers were owed almost $1 million in unpaid wages. (note)

-- Daewoosa, in American Samoa, was convicted in 2003 of human trafficking for illegally confining workers in "involuntary servitude," holding their passports, and threatening deportation for any acts of non-compliance. (note)

"Consumers concerned about the use of sweatshop labor in products they buy can turn to alternatives," claims Pauline Tiffen, managing director of the Fair Trade Federation. "Co-op America's Consumer Guide to Ending Sweatshops is a great resource for consumers looking to avoid sweatshops and support socially and environmentally conscience businesses."

Note: (Sources: Sweatshop Watch, Orange County Weekly, Women's Wear Daily, Human Rights Watch, The Economist, San Francisco Chronicle, DOL, Manchester Guardian Weekly, Washington Post)

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Wal-Mart Removed From Domini 400; `Sweatshop Conditions' Cited

By Philana Patterson

Boston, May 17 (Bloomberg) -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's biggest retailer, was removed from KLD & Co.'s Domini 400 Social Index because of what it called ``sweatshop conditions'' at its overseas vendors' factories.

KLD, which provides social research for institutional investors, said Wal-Mart hasn't done enough to ensure that its vendors meet ``adequate labor and human rights standards,'' according to a statement distributed by PR Newswire. The Domini 400 is a benchmark index for measuring the effect of social screening on financial performance.

As of Jan. 31, Wal-Mart was the third-largest holding in the Domini 400 and accounted for 3.9 percent of the index's weight.

A Wal-Mart spokesman wasn't immediately available for comment.

(http://www.kld.com/benchmarks/bloomberg/)

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Taken from NPR:

Weekend Edition - Saturday, December 27, 2003 · Wal-Mart's unmatched low prices place severe demands on the discount chain's suppliers, according to a magazine report. A demand to cut prices 5 percent every year has forced some suppliers into bankruptcy and prompted others to shut down American factories for cheaper labor abroad.

Morning Edition, October 24, 2003 · Federal immigration agents are investigating Wal-Mart for possible collusion in a scheme to hire illegal immigrants. Authorities arrested as many as 300 illegal workers Thursday at stores across the country.

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Info about how Walmart is messing up our economy - from cutting profits of big companies (not so bad, but they're gouging) to real jobs lost mills right here in the US of A:

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/77/walmart.html

http://www.latimes.com/news/custom/showcase/la-walmart-sg.gallery