Wal-Mart compels Chinese vendors to meet higher standards - Washington Post

Key Points:

• "Wal-Mart says if you're over the compliance level, you're out of business. That will send a powerful signal."
• If Wal-Mart were a sovereign nation, it would be China's fifth or sixth largest export market.
• Three-quarters or more of China's wastewater is not treated.
• Wal-Mart has more than 10,000 suppliers in China. In addition, about a million farmers supply produce to the company's 281 stores in China.
• Working with the Ministry of Agriculture and large independent cooperatives and distribution companies, Wal-Mart is trying to cultivate healthier farm techniques, with less pesticide, more organic fertilizer and more efficient water use.

On why WalMart is doing this my opinion is it makes business sense. So much of pollution is wasteful that actually costs a company money that is done for short sighted reasons. By increasing the efficiency and reducing waste, WalMart is actually making their suppliers have a lower cost and increases the competitiveness of WalMart. WalMart is doing the same in the US.

Labels: china's future, walmart