As part of Wal-Mart’s “Earth Month” campaign, the retail giant is attempting to boost the supply of certified organic cotton in the marketplace.
A few years ago the company became the biggest purchaser of organic cotton and launched a full-on organic offensive in 2006. However, supply doesn’t seem to be meeting their demand. The up-front investment required to convert crops to organic is hard to handle for many farmers. They need to be in the game for three years before their crop is certified “organic” and profits kick in. To encourage farmers to switch to organic cotton farming, Wal-Mart said it purchased more than 12 million pounds of transitional cotton from approximately 1,000 farmers at the same premium cost of certified organic cotton. “We heard from our supplier and other partners … that this was necessary in the market,” said Wal-Mart spokeswoman Tara Raddohl.
Wal-Mart said that this month, it will sell Faded Glory brand T-shirts made of transitional cotton as well as T-shirts co-branded with Coca-Cola Co that are made with RPET, a material manufactured with recycled plastic bottles.
Related on PSFK:
Wal-Mart Drives Eco-Logistics Development
Wal-Mart Tries to Get Organic
Wal-Mart to Go Green
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Wal Mart is going green? Really? The world’s biggest customer for Chinese goods is going green? Would these be the same goods produced in Chinese factories with their own special emissions standards?
And they are the world’s biggest consumer of organic cotton. Really? And we know this because… a Wal Mart PR piece says so?
I happened to be at the world’s biggest sportswear company who also claimed to be the world’s biggest user of organic cotton. One of these companies isn’t telling the truth.
It’s troubling when the world’s biggest purveyor of superfluous cheap goods claims any kind of green credentials, and more troubling yet when their claims are believed without independent substantiation.
April 15th, 2008 at 9:03 pm
This is addressed to Tara Raddohl, regarding your comment about the bassinet made by simplicity and sold in walmart stores, the model is # 3112DOH-series. You commented after my grand daughter was suffocated due to its poor design, you said you could find no fault with it ? investigators & police found otherwise and last week in Kansas City MO another child died in the very same way and very same bassinet. ? I’m trying so hard with many other to pass the word about walmarts lack of humanity and we all ask why is this baby killer still on your shelves ? Katelynn died almost 1 year ago.
August 25th, 2008 at 9:28 am