By Jessica Reed
Google Walmart's new motto: "Don't be evil"?
Walmart made the financial news today by announcing that its employee's wages had 'new minimums and maximums', implying that the starting salary would increase an average of 6%. And because one big corporate annoucement doesn't hit the news alone, WalMart also proclaimed that the company wants to start selling Ethanol - the renewable and environment-friendly fuel produced from corn which is, surprise surprise, also cheaper than gasoline.
A skeptical mind would say that because environmentally & politically-conscious consumerism is now highly fashionable, Wal Mart is just surfing on the new trend: after all, being a 'good company' not only sells, but sells big (see Google's Code of conduct...).
I dislike Walmart as much as the average opponent to multinational corporate giants, and it makes little doubt these new approaches are just clever marketing ploys, but if it sets the example for the whole industry at large, then why not?
Elsewhere: Whirl-Mart is a 'ritual during which a group gathers and silently pushes empty carts through the aisles of a superstore' + Angela Saini's openDemocracy piece on Robert Greenwald's documentary 'Wal-Mart: the high cost of low price'.
Picture: Mint tea's flickR page.
