Wal-Mart Argentina (Finally) Launches Green Program
by Paula Alvarado, Buenos Aires on 06.11.07
The Argentine franchise of Wal-Mart supermarkets has finally joined its mother company in what refers to green initiatives and has launched a program to substitute all plastic bags in its local stores for oxi-biodegradable ones. According to the company, these “include an additive in their manufacturing process that brakes the carbon links and transforms them into products sensible to sunlight, humidity, temperature and other factors that cause natural degradation. At the same time, the bags maintain their resistance and safety properties”. Wal-Mart Argentina claims to be working with providers, local government, NGOs and communities in initiatives that can “satisfy today’s needs without compromising the possibility that future generations can satisfy theirs”. The new oxi bags got to supermarkets May 14th. Check our articles on Wal-Mart USA here, and among they, Lloyd’s It’s getting harder to Hate Wal-Mart. ::Wal-Mart Argentina
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That's all well and good, but somebody should have told walmart that the spanish word for "sustainable" is "sostenible," not "sustenable."
Spanglish, anyone?
Nice post Paula,
I was not aware of the scale of Wal-Mart's presence in Argentina,
I will make sure and check this out when I'm there next month and maybe we can put some pressure on Sodimac and Jumbo to follow this type of initiatives from the other side of the Andes.
Stiven, if memory serves, Walmart and Carrefour are the biggest hypermarkets in Argentina, and together control a huge portion of the retail market. If you can get Walmart to go green in Argentina and have Carrefour match them, you'll effectively have started a major green revolution in Argentine retailing.
I'm going to rant just a minute....A pet peve of mine!
Here where I live using a canvas grocery bag is like bringing an alien into the grocery store with you!! I run into very few cashiers at the grocery stores that know what on earth to do with this thing??? I've even gotten a cashier put the items in the plastic bag and then put them into the canvas bag???
Why is it that with all of this "green shopping" movement going on all over the country why aren't stores educating their cashiers and encouraging the use of canvas bags for all of the store patrons.
I hope it's not like that all over the country!
great news...how about they do this everywhere now?!?