I shop at Target (even though I live downtown, it's on the rail line and therefore accessible) and Costco (Mexican Coke...glass bottles and no HFCS :-) )and Whole Foods, but we also drive roughly 40 miles once or twice a month to a local farm and get eggs and produce. Oh, and there's a local butcher that I exclusively buy our land-meat from (seafood comes from Whole Foods)

I think most people will fall into a similar category -- shopping at both big box and local stores.

I shop at Target. In the suburbs there are very few small local retailers for everyday needs kinda stuff.

I don't have a choice-the only retail store in my town is a Pamida, like most towns in the area.

I shop at Target for certain things, because I love their design sensibility. I have also noticed that at SuperTarget (and some regular Targets), they have a number of green products (recycled paper products, etc.).

Local butcher for beef
Large regional grocery chain for most other food products
But, when I need something (gadget, household item, media) I go where I know I can find it at the best price.
Faves:
Books-a-million
BJs
Target
BestBuy
Staples
Amazon

I'm a suburban guy, but if I lived in the city I hope I would embrace local shops. I'm not particularly social but I like to know that the neighborhood grocer is going to be there when I need a quart of milk. And there's a special joy that comes from not having to get into car for simple shopping (or so I noticed when I travel to the city on business/vacation).

We honeymooned in Savannah, GA. Beautiful city, and I loved that I could step out of my hotel (a B&B) and there were flower shops, a bodega, two coffee shops, and two bars within an easy walk.

Savannah is a built on about 20 park squares in a 2.2 mile square area. Unfortunately, most cities are not as inviting and if they are re-gentrified, as Savannah was, homes quickly become too pricey for the average home buyer. The only thing I can gather is that a lot of people want to live in clean, safe cities with a park like setting. That's too bad, because developers would have a difficult time replicating Savannah today. The zoning issues alone would be mind boggling. Not to mention the environmental impact issues and other regulations. I've heard of a few attempts but I haven't heard of any successes.

I avoid the big boxes as much as I can, with the exception of the two home improvement big boxes. I'd prefer to shop at local lumberyards and hardware stores, but the box stores are the only such outlets who are open when I need to purchase home improvement supplies, especially in emergencies.

Since the Woolworth, McCrory's, and G.C. Murphy's have all gone the way of the Dodo where else would you shop? The "Big Box" store is nothing short of a modern Five and Dime or Discount Department Store (as Wal*Mart and K-Mart both started as) so is there really a "Mom & Pop" alternative?

(Unless you are talking groceries, and then ick, I don't want department store meat & veggies..., though my Target doesn't do that stuff...)

i shop regularly at Target, but rarely at Wal-mart - the air in most Wal-Marts gives me a headache, and while their stuff is cheap, i don't generally like it. The clothes aren't made to fit a normal body, the food all feels weird, and there isn't anything I can't get better elsewhere.
i also shop locally when possible, not as often as i'd like though, 'cause it's a lot more expensive. . .

I don't shop at Wal-Mart or the like, but I do live in the suburbs and groceries are limited to Safeway or Sobey's. Also, considering it's fairly wintery here for most of the year, the only farmer's markets we have are only open 4 months a year.

However, one of my BIGGEST dreams in life is to own a home in a place where I could walk down the street to the little local corner market. When I travel to places like that I fall madly in love with life.

I never shop at Wal-Mart, for many reasons. I do shop at Target and Kohls on occasion (for clothes and houseware, and I'm sure they're guilty of many of the charges thrown at Wal-Mart, but hopefully to a lesser degree). My food comes from a regional chain grocery store (Wegmans).

Overall, my consumption level is a lot lower than the average American (I don't visit the mall very often, and only buy what I need), so hopefully this lessens the harm caused by shopping at big box stores.

It's difficult to buy many things without these stores, especially since I live in an area that has been subject to quite a bit of sprawl (Central NJ).

I gave up my Costco membership. So what if they don't wrap your purchases with tons of plastic bags, everything they sell is way over packaged.

Target is more environmentally conscious than Wal-mart??? I think they are soul sisters and whoever is hyping otherwise must have some stock ties we don't know about.

The bottom line is that even rich Americans only have so much disposable income. Being frugal means making the wisest decisions possible for your family. Sometimes :shudder: this involves a box store.

If we could all just try to make small steps toward being more green, a huge impact would be made. A few people being green snobs just makes the majority of people do even less than they already were.

I bounce back and forth, depending on where I am. When in LA I go evil, going for walmart whenever I can (they're the only place that has Gatorade powder in a bin that big) and I'm a poor grad student too. And for my bike I went with performancebike mainly because they were the cheapest and offered the best services.

Funny thing is when I go home I'll aggressively support this local sporting/hiking store just because I love to see them still around, and they have the right attitude about sports, haven't found a place like them in LA, course I have the REI for that :3

I wasn't sure what to pick. I do a lot of my food shopping at big stores like Whole Foods/Wild Oats, but never at Walmart unless there's something I need that isn't provided by a "smallmart". I haven't set foot in a Walmart in quite a while though, so it's not often I can't find what I need.

Oddly enough for Florida, the only organic farmer's market I know of is an hour and a half away and only open for a couple hours one day a week, so I haven't been going to famer's markets as much as I used to before gas got so expensive [I don't usually whine about it, but wasting that much gas driving that far for a handful of vegetable kinda defeats the whole local food thing].

I never shop at the mall, and I do buy from thrift stores all the time. That's usually where I get my clothes. I also support sites like etsy that sell handmade stuff. I wish I could afford to support more fair trade stuff, but unfortunately I'm still technically lower-middle/upper-lower class [whatever] and organic vegan is about all I've got cash in me to support.

My parents do, but I've nagged them enough that my mom is starting to feel disgusted and guilty whenever she walks into a supermarket. I also got us signed up for a food co-op, so that helps.

I'm slowly trying to wean my family off the big boxes. Next, I'll try to get them to read 'The Omnivore's Dilemma"

It is such a quandary. Try to find an American-made product in any of the big boxes. It's tough. I mean, where do you by socks or underwear locally? What about a shower curtain? I try to support local shops as much as I can. But unfortunately, sometimes I have to go to K-mart or Target.

I think it is a big step to be conscious of what we are buying. By questioning whether we actually need something and then making an effort to find it locally when possible, we are making strides. If everybody did this, there would be a lot more mom & pop stores.

I live in a rural area, so my choices are limited for a lot of things, and one of those limits is the use of WalMart (soon Target, finally, hallelujah, the lesser evil, IMO) for certain purchases.

We are, however, vegetarians surrounded by plentiful farm stands and great access to organic local produce (including much we grow ourselves) and organic milk products, and we're thinking of getting a goat for milk as well. I think on the whole it balances out.

I should note -- I actually do give WalMart more environmental cred than Target, in some respects (their use of natural light in their new buildings, a new trend toward reclaimed land, etc.) but my reason for considering Target a lesser evil is because of how they treat their employees. It's the same reason why Costco is a better choice than Sam's Club, the matter of packaging notwithstanding.

I gave up cars years ago so it's delivery or walking distance only for me!

I'm British, so have a choice of 'Big Boxes' that includes Tesco (1 pound in every 8 spent on via UK retail goes through a Tesco till), ASDA (part of Wal*mart), Sainsbury, Waitrose and Morrisons.
All are national outlets with some terrible stories about their policies, but they are the only way I can get hold of the stuff that I need - our local farmers market is held on a Wednesday afternoon, which is pretty useless for me as I work full time. The local town is also poorly stocked with independent food retailers (mainly as a result of the dominance of the major supermarket chains)
I shop mainly at Sainsbury, trying where possible to buy UK produce. At least they have now made it so that all the bananas they sell are FairTrade.

I can't stand that I shop at Big Box stores, but because of lower prices and convenience (very local, and I can walk or ride my bike there), I do. Though I even hosted a Wal-Mart Movie night in my home and tried *very* hard to avoid shopping at these places, I gave in when my budget was too stressed. My husband says don't beat yourself up over it; let the people who can *afford* to shop with their conscience lead the way, but for now we need to pay attention to our financial situation first and shop by price. I console myself that I follow my conscience in so many other areas - when cost is not a factor that inhibits me from doing the right thing.

I NEVER shop at Walmart. But sometimes I'll go to Target for things. Generally I shop at a local grocer that carries mostly organic products for everything. They have a nice mix of local stuff with a few other non-local items. I really can't wait for the farmers market to open again! Then I can shop almost 100% locally :)!

I avoid them if at all possilbe. Unfortunately that is getting harder to do. For instance - if you are looking for a toaster or a vacuum cleaner it might be difficult in some locales to find a "small" retailer that carries such items.

Generally, I try to buy as little as possible and still maintain a decent lifestyle. TVs last unitl they die......same for cars......clothes, etc. If I can find what I am looking for in a "small" store, I'll bite the cost bullet as long as it isn't exhorbitant! But lets face it.......sometimes you just have to go into one of these things to get what you need......:(

I do not shop at Target. My son had just gotten a job there and he was called for orientation. He asked if it was okay to be one and an a half hours late because he would be at college at the same time orientation started and they said no. We have NOT shopped there since. It has been over a year. I shop at Wal-mart. I do not like them either. I really do not have much of a choice. Everything is at least 20 minutes away from me. I always use the green bags. The other day while i was waiting on line at Wal-mart, just for the heck of it, i counted some people. There were 15 and they each had at least 2 plastic bags. Out of all of those people not one had a green bag. Wal-mart does have their bags to buy at$1 a piece. I bought 3 to add to my collection of Shoprite bags. They are not as well made but are still useful. They need to place their green (black)bags where people can notice them, like Shoprite.

I'm just outside a somewhat rural but growing town a ways from Nashville. First we only had a small CB and one Mom & Pop grocery and we had no fast food places or traffic lights. Now we have a traffic light by a Food Lion and an H G Hills down the road. We also have a McDonalds, Sonic, and a Mexican cafe to compliment the ole "City Cafe". The old folks tend to shop the Hills while the younger crowd shops Food Lion. The Big Box marts are several miles away. There is a Krogers about 10 miles away. I shop selectively at places having the best prices and quality of what I'm looking for. Wal Mart is not cheap but I go there for motor oil, air, and oil filters. While there, perhaps twice a month, I'll probably buy a little food or hardware. That place is like an international market place owing to the array of ethnic groups one encounters. Aldis is a "little Big Box Mart" actually having their stuff displayd in boxes. They have good prices on veggies and fruits and off-brand stuff like cereals. It is still a 18 mile drive. Krogers has the best quality seafood and for generally good prices. I see more and more fish and other seafoods coming out of China, Vietnam, etc.

I'm just outside a somewhat rural but growing town a ways from Nashville. First we only had a small CB and one Mom & Pop grocery and we had no fast food places or traffic lights. Now we have a traffic light by a Food Lion and an H G Hills down the road. We also have a McDonalds, Sonic, and a Mexican cafe to compliment the ole "City Cafe". The old folks tend to shop the Hills while the younger crowd shops Food Lion. The Big Box marts are several miles away. There is a Krogers about 10 miles away. I shop selectively at places having the best prices and quality of what I'm looking for. Wal Mart is not cheap but I go there for motor oil, air, and oil filters. While there, perhaps twice a month, I'll probably buy a little food or hardware. That place is like an international market place owing to the array of ethnic groups one encounters. Aldis is a "little Big Box Mart" actually having their stuff displayd in boxes. They have good prices on veggies and fruits and off-brand stuff like cereals. It is still a 18 mile drive. Krogers has the best quality seafood and for generally good prices. I see more and more fish and other seafoods coming out of China, Vietnam, etc.

My wife and I shop at Wal-mart and Target, but rarely buy clothing or other products not made in the USA. I do have to give Wal-mart credit, they have a reusable bag for $1. I have'nt seen one at Target yet. There bags are great and better than most I seen or bought. We have given up going to fast food joints that don't let us use our own Guyot drinking bottles (Sonic). Just about every week we cross off another big business that is no longer going to get our money.

I went to a union hall screening of the Wal Mart movie. When I asked about shopping at Target, they said that, while they are not unionized, their treatment of employees was good.

Walmart has never had anything I liked and I have only been in a few times out of desperation. Even then, I left empty handed.

I am an American living in London. In the UK, Tesco seems to be the evil equivalent of Walmart, swallowing up small town stores. Although ASDA is related to Walmart, it's not as big.