Is Walmart Ethical In 2022? (Staff, Clothing, Wages + More)

Major retail chains around the world are under increasing pressure from consumers to adopt ethical and environmentally-friendly practices due to their large social impact.

Walmart is one the most popular retail chains in the U.S. and you might wonder: Is Walmart ethical? This is what I know about Walmart’s corporate policies!

Walmart Is Ethical 2022

There are many conflicting reports about Walmart’s ethical status as of 2022. Walmart makes regular donations to local charities and organizations. But, it does pay its employees very low wages. It doesn’t offer any health insurance. Walmart stated its desire to be more sustainable.

You can read on to learn about Walmart’s sustainability, including whether or not it uses sweatshop labor.

Walmart Is It Ethical To Buy From?

Walmart is ethical to an extent, so it is ultimately up to you whether you choose to shop there or not.

Walmart donates significantly to local charities, such as Youth Build and Higher Education Policy.

Forbes magazine even stated that Walmart is the largest US philanthropic company.

Walmart’s unethical behavior can lead to increased air pollution, water pollution, and the loss and destruction of natural ecosystems.

These unethical practices include building Walmart stores on land that was previously home to endangered and critical species.

Other than this, the company abandons all of its retail locations and leaves vacant buildings.

Does Walmart Use Sweatshops?

Walmart previously claimed that it used child labor and sweatshops for its production.

A factory that provided Walmart with its products from China was found to have been beating and paying very low wages. The workers were forced to work 90 hours per week.

Walmart ended their contractual relationship with the factory when news spread about this treatment.

Walmart also cancelled deals with suppliers in Burma or Bangladesh. These locations were rumored each to be home to factories that are sweatshop-based.

What Are Walmart’s Ethical Issues?

The following ethical issues have landed Walmart in some bad press concerning its engagement with environmentally-conscious practices:

Employers should not be paid low wages. They must actively work to reduce these wages.

Not providing accessible or affordable health insurance plans for its staff

Establishing stores on lands that are regularly placed upon virgin land (which often houses many microcosms or ecosystems).

Walmart’s growing demand for meat products has led to many farmers being displaced by large corporations, which are against sustainable agriculture.

What Is Walmart’s Code Of Ethics

Walmart does have its own code of ethics, but it is not making this available to the public.

However, it does have a code of conduct that it instills into every aspect of its business, which includes the following principles:

Respect for all

Do your best to achieve excellence

Take care of the customer

Integrity is key

What amount of money has Walmart donated to charity?

Walmart donated more than 500 million dollars in past years to charities and non-profits across the United States.

This figure has been calculated using the following sets of data provided by Walmart FYE :

Walmart’s contribution to local charities increased from $296 Million to $378 Million between 2008 and 2009.

Walmart gave $45.5 million in 2009 to charity and markets around the world, up from $41 million in 2007.

Walmart customers donated $106M to charity worldwide through their associates’ in-store charitable programs and gift schemes

Walmart forecasted that it would surpass 1.5 million volunteer hours by 2010, with employees and customers participating in the schemes.

Walmart’s clothing is ethically produced?

Walmart is known to source clothing from factories which do not ethically treat its workers.

The Business Insider discovered that Walmart still sources clothing items from Mars Apparels, a Bangladeshi factory.

Walmart announced it was ending its Mars Apparels agreement in 2011, after the apparel company exposed their employees for working very long hours and receiving little pay.

However, two years after Walmart announced that it was terminating the contract with Bangladeshi factories, Walmart’s owners confirmed they still do business with them.

U.S. shipping records confirm this. It is becoming increasingly difficult to prove that Walmart clothing is ethical.

What Are Walmart’s Sustainable Efforts and Aims?

Walmart recently published the following set aims which detail the company’s efforts to create a more sustainable future.

Responsibly source your goods

Avoid unnecessary emission

Get rid of waste

Restores nature and eco-systems

Buy sustainable products

Reduce carbon footprint

Walmart’s Sustainable Development Initiative: What Have They Done?

Walmart took the following steps to improve its sustainability level:

Solar and wind energy installations

In 2020, 81% will be diverted from landfills.

Being a regenerative business

Walmart might interest you if you want to know more about it. You can also read up on Walmart’s unionization, Walmart’s market target, and why Walmart hates people.

Conclusion

Walmart gets mixed reviews about its ethics engagement.

However, what is clear is that Walmart is fully engaged in becoming a sustainable and ethical company in the future.

Walmart plans to use 100 percent recyclable and compostable branding packaging by 2025.

Additionally, Walmart hopes to achieve its zero emissions target by 2040 and reach the use of 100% renewable energy by 2035.

Are Walmart Clothes Legal?

Walmart’s environmental rating is not good enough. It does not use eco-friendly materials. No evidence is available to show that it reduces textile waste. There are no signs that it took meaningful actions to minimize or eliminate harmful chemicals.

Does Walmart Have Any Ethical Issues?

It is the most important private employer in the United States and also has an economic impact on the country. But, there are ethical concerns about worker compensation and gender discrimination.

Does Walmart Have Unethical Practices?

These criticisms can include anti-competitive practices. Treatment of suppliers. Environmental practices. The use of public subsidy.

Does Walmart Use Sweatshops?

Workers at Asia factories that supply Walmart, H&M and Gap are still being exploited in sweatshop conditions, three years after the deadly collapse of a Bangladeshi factory, according to a worker rights group.Jun 1, 2016

.Is Walmart Ethical In 2022? (Staff, Clothing, Wages + More)