WAL MARTWATCH
AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE LARGEST RETAILER ON EARTH
IN DEPTH
DANGER FOR SALE
How Wal-Mart’s Unethical Practices Endanger Consumers
ABOUT US:
WAL-MART WATCH
is a nationwide public
education campaign
to challenge the
world’s largest retailer
to become a better
employer, neighbor
and corporate citizen.
We bridge the gap
between ordinary
citizens and community organizations
concerned about
Wal-Mart’s unchecked
growth and negative
impact on our society.
We challenge Wal-Mart
to embrace its moral
responsibility as the
nation’s biggest and
most important corporation.
Wal-Mart’s low prices are no bargain. Too
often the products for sale in Wal-Mart
stores have serious safety issues. Learn
how the retailer’s business practices are
putting consumers at risk.
WAL-MART is famous for its low prices.
The company touts its bargains every
chance it gets, making customers forget
about everything except low prices. The
reality is much harsher than the company’s marketing would have consumers
believe: these low prices often come at a
deadly cost.
Dangerously Cheap Products
E. Coli tainted meat. Melamine in dog
food. Lead-coated paint on children’s toys.
ALWAYS LOW QUALITY, ALWAYS.
Throughout this issue we examine the
different ways suppliers cut corners to
meet Wal-Mart’s demand for low prices,
and how this jeopardizes consumer
safety.
IN THIS ISSUE
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1
Danger for Sale
..........2
Letter from the Executive Director
Top Stories on Wal-Mart and
..............................3
Product Safety
Wal-Mart’s Opposition to
...............................5
Safe Products
Cribs that kill infants in their sleep. These are
just some of the products sold at Wal-Mart.
The company wants the public to believe that
Wal-Mart’s just an innocent retailer, blameless
in the face of a global economy. But make no
mistake: Wal-Mart is the force behind these
dangerous products.
Continued on page 4
Protect our Children...From Their Toys? . . . . 6
Dangerous Products:
A Human Rights Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Wal-Mart and China:
.......................9
A Joint Venture
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Unknown Dangers
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Book in the Spotlight
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Wal-Mart in the News
CONSUMER
PRODUCT
SAFETY
A Letter from David Nassar, Executive Director of Wal-Mart Watch
Dozens of recalls over the last several months have left many consumers wary of imported goods. Stories of lead paint on toys, flawed manufacturing, tainted food, and
more have consumers on guard about the origin of the products they buy.
Wal-Mart is a common thread in this story. It is often directly involved in a recall of
particular products. More broadly, Wal-Mart’s pressure on suppliers to shift production
to countries with weaker labor and environmental standards is well documented. This
choice has an obvious effect on the safety and quality of the products they sell.
Because of its enormous market share, Wal-Mart is like a puppeteer controlling strings
of its suppliers. The company can force suppliers to make even minute changes to their
products.
Wal-Mart’s practices go beyond the company and affect consumers everywhere. The
company’s sheer size forces the entire retail industry to play by its rules, making other
companies use similar practices to stay competitive. That means Wal-Mart’s irresponsible behavior is putting everyone at risk, not just Wal-Mart shoppers.
I hope you will read more about Wal-Mart’s dangerous product safety record in this
issue of In Depth, or visit our website to find out how you can help hold Wal-Mart accountable for its actions.
David Nassar
Executive Director
Wal-Mart Watch
KNOW YOUR FACTS ABOUT
WAL-MART AND PRODUCT SAFETY
Wal-Mart is the number one seller of toys in the U.S.
“Today, Wal-Mart controls 22 percent of the U.S. toy market, compared
with about 17 percent for Toys ‘’R’’ Us, analysts said.” [International Herald
Tribune, 2/8/06]
Wal-Mart’s imports from China have risen 181% from 2001-2006 and
the giant retailer imports more than 70% of its products, including toys
from there. [EPI Issue Brief #235, 6/26/07; Gladstone Capital Quarterly
Shareholders Call, 2/10/05]
CONSUMER
PRODUCT
SAFETY
IN RECENT NEWS
Top Stories on Wal-Mart and Product Safety
Trade Pacts Have Paved Way for Toxic Toys [Chicago Sun-Times, 11/6/07]
Lead has been banned in U.S. toys for decades. But China is notorious for not enforcing safety or consumer or environmental standards. Companies such as Wal-Mart
force their suppliers to relocate to China and elsewhere to get the cheapest labor and
provide the cheapest products.
Democrats laud product safety overhaul [Arkansas News, 11/1/07]
Pryor said his office had a “constructive dialogue” with Bentonville-based Wal-Mart
Stores Inc., over the legislation but the nation’s largest retailer was concerned about
the bill’s consequences.
CPSC:
���������������������������������������������������������������������
Wal-Mart Recall Lacked Information [Associated Press, 10/30/07]
A federal consumer product watchdog agency said Tuesday that a unilateral recall of
lead-tainted toy animals by Wal-Mart Stores Inc. lacked some information that consumers need, including how many toys were sold, when they were sold and at what
other retailers.
Wal-Mart, Topps Named in E. Coli Class-Action Suit [Bloomberg News, 10/3/07]
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Pathmark Stores Inc., Topps Meat Co. and other companies were
named in a lawsuit seeking class-action status by customers who purchased meat containing the E. coli bacterium.
Groups say dangerous toys still on store shelves [CNN Money, 9/27/07]
Tests conducted on some toys and other children’s products sold recently at Wal-Mart,
Target and Toys “R” Us stores were found to contain dangerously high levels of lead,
consumer interest groups said Thursday.
Industry Warns Congress On China Import Sanctions [Women’s Wear Daily, 9/27/07]
Major U.S. retailers and manufacturers including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., Liz Claiborne
Inc., Gap Inc. and J.C. Penney Co. Inc. are stepping up pressure on Congress to change
legislation that could impose punitive duties on Chinese imports and lead to stricter
product safety rules.
Memo to Media: Consumers Shouldn’t Lower Product Safety Expectations [Huffington
Post, 9/11/07]
Recent toy recalls have raised legitimate questions. While most of those questions focus on who is responsible for safeguarding our children, some irresponsible members
of the media are questioning the validity of the public’s expectations of product safety.
This battle for higher expectations, is at the heart of the fight raging in America over
Wal-Mart; product safety is perhaps the most glaring example.
The High Cost of Low Cost [Huffington Post, 9/11/07]
This is far more basic than Economics 101. It’s nothing more than a wise saying everyone learned in grade school. You Get What You Pay For.
CONSUMER
PRODUCT
SAFETY
Continued from page 1
By demanding low prices at any cost and
at any standard, Wal-Mart puts consumers’
lives and health at risk. The company is
notorious for forcing the hand of companies that stock its shelves. CEO Lee Scott
said it himself in late September:
“Our suppliers were waiting for us to ask,
and when we started asking the question
they actually accelerated.” 1
Forcing Suppliers to Take Risks
Many companies over the years have been
forced to change their business practices
to accommodate Wal-Mart’s demand for
ever-lower prices. When sensible methods
are exhausted, some manufacturers resort
to drastic measures, cutting corners on
materials, labor conditions and quality.
Take Topps Meat for example. Before
Topps went out of business this summer, Wal-Mart was one of its biggest
customers. When beef demand went up
in August, Topps pressured workers to
speed up, but in doing so neglected critical safety measures.2 The beef went bad,
Topps went under, but Wal-Mart kept
going; pressuring new companies to cut
corners despite the risk.
Wal-Mart Influences Every Retailer
As the world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart
sets the bar for prices…and standards.
When Wal-Mart sells products cheaply,
the company’s competitors are forced to
keep pace in order to stay competitive.
As a result, other companies then employ
the same tactics Wal-Mart uses to get prices low, and Wal-Mart’s dangerous production practices are perpetuated.
Wal-Mart is not just a middleman; it is potentially the most influential player in the
product safety game. To be part of a sustainable solution, Wal-Mart must change
its practices with suppliers and federal
agencies to make product safety a priority rather than an afterthought. If Wal-Mart
leads, other retailers will follow.
ENDNOTES
1 Clinton Global Initiatives Summit, 9/26/07
2 Drew, Christopher. “Many Red Flags Preceded a
Recall of Hamburger,” New York Times. 10/23/07
WAL-MART’S INEFFECTIVE RECALL PRACTICES:
The Story of Ol’ Roy
After the March 2007 recall of Ol’ Roy, Wal-Mart’s in-house
dog food brand, pet owners scrambled to get the tainted
food out of their houses. Wal-Mart, however, was not so
eager. Customers found cans of the tainted food in stores
weeks after the recall was announced, a fact which shocked
some shoppers and made everyone take a closer look at
what exactly Wal-Mart sells. [See for example «Recalled pet food
found on store shelves,» WKCY-TV, Cleveland, OH. 3/21/07]
Similar scenarios have happened with dozens of other products, where Wal-Mart continues to sell recalled products. Much of the problem could lie with Wal-Mart’s poor employee relations. Notoriously bad employee treatment, low pay and benefits, as well
as consistent understaffing has left many Wal-Mart stores poorly stocked and poorly
managed. By cutting costs on employees, Wal-Mart is cutting into its sales. Were the
company to treat its employees better, these problems might lessen.
CONSUMER
PRODUCT
SAFETY
LOOKING IN DEPTH
WAL-MART’S OPPOSITION TO SAFE PRODUCTS
THROUGH LOBBYING, company recall policies, and testing practices, Wal-Mart often
contributes to the product safety problem. Visit our website for more information.
1. Wal-Mart is vague about its testing methods.
It is unknown which products Wal-Mart tests and the types of tests conducted. In addition, Wal-Mart conducts nearly all of its product safety testing at Consumer Testing
Laboratories (CTL), a private company which relies on Wal-Mart for the majority of its
business. Neither CTL nor Wal-Mart is required to disclose test results to the public, and
consumers are forced to take Wal-Mart’s word that the company’s products are safe.
[http://www.walmartstores.com/GlobalWMStoresWeb/navigate.do?catg=331]
2. Wal-Mart relies on consumer complaints after the fact.
As part of a voluntary reporting system with the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC), Wal-Mart is only required to investigate complaints about its products; it is
NOT required to take any preventative measures to ensure its products are safe. [http://
www.pogolaw.com/files/news-alerts/2066/CPSC+Retailer+Reporting_10.06.pdf ]
3. Wal-Mart lobbies against increased port container inspections.
In 2007, when a bill came before Congress to increase port security funding, Wal-Mart
denounced it. Despite its potential to save lives and prevent widespread illness, WalMart railed against the law, saying it would slow down the import process and raise
costs. [“New Shipping Law Makes Big Waves In Foreign Ports,” Wall Street Journal, 10/25/07]
4. Wal-Mart opposes strengthening the CPSC.
Through the Retail Industry Leaders Association and the Toy Industry Association, WalMart opposes provisions in legislation that would strengthen the enforcement ability
of the CPSC. The retailer is adamant about avoiding responsibility for selling recalled or
unsafe products. See page 11 for more information.
5. Wal-Mart openly opposes Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) for food
products.
Country of Origin Labeling would mandate that all food be labeled with its country of
origin, helping consumers tell where their food is from. Wal-Mart has come out against
the law several times, saying it would be too difficult to accomplish. [http://walmartfacts.
com/newsdesk/statementspeeches.aspx?categoryID=290#a1822 (note: Wal-Mart has removed the
original page from its site.), Also read our report on Country of Origin Labeling; http://walmartfacts.
com/newsdesk/statement-speeches.aspx?categoryID=290#a1822]
6. Wal-Mart indirectly lobbies AGAINST food inspections.
Through the Food Marketing Institute, Wal-Mart has lobbied against legislation that
would increase inspections of imported food and increase transparency of shipments
handled by food manufacturers and processors. [Robert Pear “Food Industry’s Resistance
Stalls Bill To Protect Food,” New York Times, 4/16/02. Andrew Bridges “Imported Food Rarely Inspected”,
Denver Post, 4/16/2007]
CONSUMER
PRODUCT
SAFETY
PROTECT OUR CHILDREN...FROM THEIR TOYS?
Warning: Buy Toys at Your Own Risk
By Marla Felcher, Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government
EVERY DAY, millions of parents comb the
aisles of retail and discount stores in search
of children’s products and toys. With the
wide variety of products on the market to
help carry, feed, soothe, bathe and entertain, most people assume that
these products are tested and
safe for their little ones. This is
not always the case.
Rather, those very aisles should
be laden with signs stating
“Warning: buy at your own
risk.” In fact, while full-size cribs,
rattles and bunk beds are covered by mandatory safety standards, most children’s products,
including portable cribs, high
chairs, strollers and carriers,
are covered only by “voluntary” safety
standards, which, as the name suggests,
a manufacturer can choose to comply
with, or not. Manufacturers, not the U.S.
government, determine which hazards
the voluntary standard will address, and
which it will ignore. Standing in front of
the high chair aisle at Wal-Mart, there is
no way for a parent to know which hazards the manufacturer has foreseen, and
which it has chosen to mitigate.
New, must-have products often turn out
to be the least tested. When hard-han-
dled infant car seat/carriers (knick-named
“baby in a bucket”) hit the market in the
mid-1990s, there were no government
or industry-wide safety standards for the
new product. Manufacturers began work
on a voluntary safety standard in 1997,
which was finally put into place in 2000.
Continued on p. 7
NOTABLE QUOTES
WAL-MART AND PRODUCT SAFETY
“When retailers don’t report, that means dangerous products continue to be
sold to unsuspecting consumers,” CPSC Chairman Ann Brown said. “Wal-Mart
said it’s so large it wasn’t organized to know there was a problem. But being the nation’s largest retailer is not an excuse for not reporting, especially
when 29 incidents occurred in their stores, with several consumers having to
be sent away in ambulances.” [Washington Post, 5/25/01]
CONSUMER
PRODUCT
SAFETY
Continued from p. 6
During this time, more than 2.5 million
carriers were recalled – made by Cosco,
Century, Evenflo, Graco, Kolcraft and others – because the handle unexpectedly
unlatched. Hundreds of babies suffered
concussions, fractured skulls and other
serious injuries when they were thrown
from the carrier. And guess what? The
manufacturers’ safety standard was either
deficient or the companies didn’t comply
with it because carrier handles kept breaking and babies kept falling out. In 2003,
Cosco recalled 1.2 million carriers because
the handles unexpectedly unlatched.
And last May, Evenflo recalled 450,000 car
seat/carriers when the handles unlatched
and 160 babies were thrown out and hurt.
Our children deserve better than this.
As the world’s largest retailer and the
nation’s largest toy seller, Wal-Mart could
take the lead in ensuring the products we
buy for our kids are safe. But the company
does not require manufacturers of toys,
carriers, high chairs or other children’s
products to demonstrate the products are
safe before they wind up on a Wal-Mart
shelf. The retailer does, however, flex its
market power to insist that manufacturers cut costs, the impetus for many companies to scrimp on pre-market testing
and to move factories to China.
To make matters worse, sometimes even
after a product is recalled, Wal-Mart continues to sell it. Take the recent case of
the Fisher-Price Rainforest Open Top TakeAlong™ Swing. The Consumer Product
Safety Commission (CPSC) recalled three
models of the swing in May after regulators learned that 60 babies had become
entrapped between the swing and the
frame. But, a Denver news cast reported
the swings were still being sold in WalMart stores three months after the recall.
Last June, the CPSC recalled 1.5 million
Thomas the Tank Engine trains because
the toys were covered with lead paint. According to a Chicago Tribune article, WalMart was still selling the lead-tainted toy
trains two weeks after the recall. And earlier this summer, recalled Magnetix toys
were being sold in Wal-Mart stores almost
two years after they had been recalled.
When the toys broke, children ate the
tiny, colorful magnets, which sometimes
attached around the child’s intestines and
resulted in the death of a 20-month old
toddler. In addition, dozens of children
required emergency surgery to remove
the magnets and repair their intestines.
Wal-Mart has enormous clout with manufacturers. The retailer should use this
clout not only to insist its suppliers cut
costs, but also to insist that manufacturers safety-test their products. A solid first
step would be for Wal-Mart to require
manufacturers of children’s products to
certify that their goods have been safetytested by a truly independent third party,
and that the products comply with meaningful safety standards.
For the world’s largest retailer to take a
bold position on safety would set a strong
precedent for other retailers to follow. It
is time for Wal-Mart to be part of the solution, rather than part of the problem.
Marla Felcher, PhD is a lecturer at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. She is the author of “It’s No Accident:
How Corporations Sell Dangerous Baby
Products,” (Common Courage Press, 2001)
and is currently working on her second
book, “Recall! What companies won’t tell us,
and the U.S. government can’t say, about
the food we eat, the cars we drive, and the
products we buy for our children.”
CONSUMER
PRODUCT
SAFETY
DANGEROUS PRODUCTS:
A HUMAN RIGHTS PERSPECTIVE
By David Nassar, Executive Director, Wal-Mart Watch
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON THE HUFFINGTON POST
THERE’S MORE THAN ONE REASON to
be wary of toys on the shelves of your local
Wal-Mart. After dozens of recalls over the
last few months, consumers have grown
to distrust toy manufacturers and justly
so. Lead paint, faulty manufacturing, poor
materials and dangerous components
have made toy shopping a treacherous
ordeal. But these dangerous toys aren’t
putting just our children
at risk: they also endanger the lives of the factory
workers who make them.
The same forces that make
manufacturers cut corners
on paint and plastic also
make manufacturers cut
corners on labor costs.
Working long hours in appalling conditions - often
with toxic chemicals and
no protection - laborers in
China bear the true cost of
America’s low price toys.
Stores like Wal-Mart demand bottom dollar costs, but the costs come back not only
to us and our children, but to entire communities overseas. Recent stories regarding children making clothing for the Gap,
Inc. in India’s factories are another harsh
reminder of that truth.
October’s Congressional hearing on toy
safety and working conditions in China’s
factories highlighted the fact that without ensuring the safety of employees in
supplier factories, it is challenging at best
to ensure the safety of the products that
come out of those factories and ultimately the safety of our children.
In addition, the National Labor Committee released a new report that paints a
detailed, intimate picture of life in a WalMart supplier sweatshop. Called “Toys of
Misery,” the report details working conditions laborers must endure to produce
products for Wal-Mart.
And two years ago Lee Scott pledged
[PDF] to become a leader in ethical sourcing standards. Two years
later, the company has
made little progress towards that goal. A new
study from the International Labor Rights Fund documents Wal-Mart’s progress
(or lack thereof ) and calls
on the company to do better. You can view the full report and download it here.
Wal-Mart’s pressure on
supplier companies means
workers overseas work
without contracts, for little pay and frequent abuse and mistreatment. No one
wants to teach their children these values. In light of recent toy recalls and all of
the information recently released, it is not
a stretch to draw a connection between
the pressure Wal-Mart puts on it suppliers
for low cost merchandise, the problems
at these factories and the safety issues of
the products. If Wal-Mart and the Walton
family are truly committed to improving
product safety and worker conditions, the
company should spend the money to do
it. All of us deserve higher standards from
the world’s largest retailer.
CONSUMER
PRODUCT
SAFETY
Due to Wal-Mart’s willingness to reduce or ignore standards for the sake of
lowering prices, many manufacturers
choose to produce goods in countries
where labor is cheap, laws are loosely
enforced and government oversight is
almost non-existent. One of these places is China.
WAL-MART AND CHINA DO A LOT OF
BUSINESS.
• Wal-Mart’s relationship with China
has grown exponentially over the last
few years. Between 2001 and 2006, WalMart’s imports from China have risen
181%. The retailer now imports more
than 70% of its products from that one
country. [EPI Issue Brief #235, 6/26/07; Gladstone Capital Quarterly Shareholders Call,
2/10/05]
• On a list of China’s top export locations in 2006, Wal-Mart would rank 7th
ahead of the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Taiwan. Overall, Wal-Mart
was responsible for “11% of the growth
of the total U.S. trade deficit with China
between 2001and 2006. [EPI Issue Brief
#235, 6/26/07; PRC General Administration of
Customs, China’s Customs Statistics; http://
www.uschina.org/statistics/tradetable.html]
CHINA PRODUCES CHEAP GOODS...
AT A PRICE.
• “The [Chinese] government has found
that companies have cut corners in virtually every aspect of food production
and packaging, including improper use
of fertilizer, unsanitary packing and
poor refrigeration of dairy products.”
[“China Food Fears Go From Pets to People,”
Washington Post, 4/25/07]
• The Consumer Product Safety Commission in 2004 and 2007 entered into
a Memorandum of Understanding with
China. These regulatory guidelines for
goods coming in to North America from
China suggest, but do not require, testing by suppliers and retailers and could
undermine product safety regulation.
[www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PREREL/prhtml04/
04124mou.html]
LAX STANDARDS OVERSEAS MEANS
DANGEROUS PRODUCTS IN THE U.S.
China’s largely unregulated export market means huge savings for Wal-Mart,
but it also means that products are
shoddily produced, health standards
are rarely enforced and little to no product testing is conducted.
Wal-Mart is fully aware of the problems
that persist in manufacturing products
so cheaply. Despite these dangers, the
company continues to push suppliers
overseas where costs are cheaper. While
there is nothing inherently wrong with
lowering costs, Wal-Mart must take responsibility for the risks that accompany
such practices and work to ensure that
products are safe.
CONSUMER
PRODUCT
SAFETY
WORDS FROM THE COALITION
UNKNOWN DANGERS:
Taking Steps Toward a Product Safety System
By Nancy A. Cowles, Executive Director of Kids In Danger
THE CRIB A GRANDMOTHER BUYS to
welcome her new grandson, the Barbie
a mother puts in the cart to gain a few
more minutes of shopping time, or the
stroller bought as a shower gift -- consumers have no way to know how safe
those products are. Most parents believe
that if an item is for sale in their local WalMart, someone, somewhere, must have
made sure it was safe. Perhaps they assume it was some government agency
or Wal-Mart itself. But neither is the case.
This year alone, Wal-Mart has had to yank
at least 28 different children’s items including toys, cribs, car seat and swings
for hazards as old as lead poisoning and
choking and as new as magnet ingestion. How did so many dangerous items
find their way onto Wal-Mart shelves in
the first place?
While parents rely on juvenile products
to keep their child safe and comfortable
and on toys to stimulate and entertain
them, they are unaware of how little
safety testing goes on before they bring
the product home. There is no requirement that products be tested for safety
before they are sold, and when a product fails or causes injury to a child, no requirement that the manufacturer or our
so-called consumer watchdog, the US
Consumer Product Safety Commission
(CPSC), let the public know. So over the
past few years when expectant parents
visited Wal-Mart to buy a Simplicity crib
for their new arrival, they had no way of
knowing that a California baby had died
in the same crib in the spring of 2005 or
a Georgia baby died in November 2006 in
a crib his aunt and uncle bought at WalMart. Not until September of this year
was that crib recalled, after at least two
other deaths.
What is needed is a strong children’s product safety system. Here are a few steps the
government, manufacturers and retailers
such as Wal-Mart can take:
1. Strengthen the CPSC
First, the CPSC needs to be strengthened
– both with more funding and staff, and
with a stronger mandate to protect consumers.
2. Better Testing for Products
Products must be tested by independent
laboratories to stringent standards before
they are sold. And all reports of product
hazards must be made public.
3. Require Safety Certification
As a retailer and importer, Wal-Mart must
require certification of independent testing from its vendors prior to selling products. This testing should include all mandatory and voluntary standards.
4. Spread Recall Information
When a product is recalled, Wal-Mart
should be aggressive in getting that information to its customers through store flyers, ad flyer inserts, mail and the internet.
5. Consumer Participation
What can consumers do? First, follow age
Continued on p. 11
10
CONSUMER
PRODUCT
SAFETY
Continued from p. 10
guidelines and recommendations on
all products. They are there for safety
reasons. If you have a problem with a
product that you believe could be unsafe, report it to the manufacturer, retailer and the Consumer Product Safety
Commission. Check all the products you
use with your children at http://cpsc.gov
and sign up for email alerts about recalls. Tell your friends and family about
the need to check all products for recalls.
Find more information about keeping
children safe at www.KidsInDanger.org.
Kids In Danger is a nonprofit organization
dedicated to protecting children by improving
children’s product safety. We were founded in
1998 by Linda Ginzel and Boaz Keysar, after
the death of their son Danny Keysar in a poorly
designed, inadequately tested, and feebly recalled portable crib. Our mission is to promote
the development of safer children’s products,
advocate for children and educate the general
public, especially parents and caregivers, about
children’s product safety.
GET TO KNOW:
THE CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION
The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) should be one of the best allies consumers have in the struggle to make sure the products we buy are safe. The CPSC is
responsible for “protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death”
from consumer products. [www.cpsc.gov/about/about.html] This would be a daunting task
even for a well-equipped army. Unfortunately for American consumers, the CPSC is chronically underfunded and
understaffed. But this isn’t the only problem facing consumers seeking help from the government agency.
All consumer goods companies – including Wal-Mart
– keep records about what tests have been conducted to
confirm the safety of their products. Under the Freedom
of Information Act (FOIA), consumers can request to see
any of these records. But as it now stands, the CPSC must
inform the company in question that a FOIA request
has been made before any information can be released. The company, in turn, must
grant the CPSC permission to release the documents. These requests are frequently denied. The 6(b) statute is well known, justifiably opposed by consumer safety advocates
and is one of the major changes recommended in the legislation to reform the CPSC.
Thus corporations like Wal-Mart are able to keep product safety information completely
secret. Consumers are left with little means to ensure their own safety – whether to
learn more about products or check up on government agencies tasked with the responsibility. Considering Wal-Mart’s long history of selling unsafe products, more governmental and corporate transparency is required. The failure of the CPSC and the Freedom of Information Act to provide transparency regarding consumer product safety
and behavior of retailers affects the products on Wal-Mart’s store shelves and ultimately
the products in our homes.
11
CONSUMER
PRODUCT
SAFETY
BOOK IN THE SPOTLIGHT
It’s No Accident: How Corporations Sell Dangerous Baby
Products
Marla Felcher, PhD, Common Courage Press, 2001.
Last year consumers spent $4.5 billion on infant
products such as portable cribs, cradles, infant
carriers, and car seats. Today’s parents, many of
them older, dual income, and mobile, demand
product features that fifteen years ago were unheard of: portable cribs that weigh only a few
pounds and easily collapse for storage, car seats
that double as infant carriers, over-sized strollers
for parents who jog. Products, it turns out, that
are too often inadequately tested and ultimately
unsafe.
Marla Felchers’ 2 year long investigation has revealed case after case of infants and toddlers being seriously injured and killed by these products
and case after case of manufacturers going to
great lengths to cover this up. It’s No Accident exposes the inner-workings of the infant products
industry, highlighting the tactics used by corporate giants such as Hasbro (Playskool), Evenflo,
Kolcraft, Cosco, Graco, and Century Products to keep consumers in the dark about their
safety records.
WAL-MART PRODUCT RECALLS SINCE JULY, 2007
This is a small sample of news stories covering Wal-Mart’s recalls. There have been
several dozen recalls this year; some of them were well-publicized, others were not.
•
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Skull Fractures Prompt Baby Seat Recall [Washington Post, 10/25/07]
Pot pies linked to salmonella are recalled [Los Angeles Times, 10/12/2007]
Lead found in toys and backpacks in stores [Reuters, 10/10/07]
550,000 More Chinese Toys Recalled for Lead [New York Times, 9/27/07]
Largest crib recall in history [Chicago Tribune, 9/21/07]
Wal-Mart Finds Traces Of Melamine in Dog Treats [Wall Street Journal, 8/23/07]
Wal-Mart quietly pulls dog treats, performs tests amid customer complaints [USA Today, 8/20/07]
Mattel Recalls 19 Million Toys Sent From China [New York Times, 8/15/07]
FDA Investigates Import Seafood Claims [Washington Post, 8/9/07]
Wal-Mart Burns Another Customer [Wal-Mart Watch Blog, 7/23/07]
Botulism contamination recall: Wal-Mart chili added to list [BloggingStocks, 7/23/07]
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CONSUMER
PRODUCT
SAFETY
WAL-MART IN THE NEWS
SUMMER - FALL 2007
Restoring Wal-Mart [Time Magazine, 11/12/07]
It’s a remarkable statement: the best retail company ever created, the largest company
in the world, with annual sales of $345 billion, is struggling. So it requires a big, bold
fix.
Inside Wal-Mart’s Bid To Slash State Taxes [Wall Street Journal, 10/23/07]
In May 2001, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. issued an appeal to big accounting firms: Find us
creative new ways to cut our state tax bills.
Study Says Wal-Mart Often Fights Local Taxes [New York Times, 10/10/07]
Wal-Mart doesn’t believe just in lower prices - it believes in lower property taxes, too.
The big discount chain has sought to reduce the property taxes it pays on 35 percent
of its stores and 40 percent of its distribution centers, according to a report to be released today by Good Jobs First, a group that is critical of Wal-Mart.
Wal-Mart Era Wanes Amid Big Shifts in Retail [Wall Street Journal, 10/2/07]
The Wal-Mart Era, the retailer’s time of overwhelming business and social influence in
America, is drawing to a close.
Wal-Mart: A Snap Inspection [BusinessWeek, 10/2/07]
The retailer’s customer service scores low on our three-store visit. Says one worker: “If
Wal-Mart doesn’t care for me, why should I care?”
Health Plan Overhauled at Wal-Mart [New York Times, 9/19/07]
Wal-Mart, long criticized for its health care coverage, unveiled a broad plan yesterday
that is intended to cut employee costs, expand coverage and offer workers thousands
of cheap prescription drugs.
Wal-Mart Kicks Off New Campaign, With New Tagline [Wall Street Journal, 9/13/07]
Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s newest ad campaign, which begins this week, marks the discount
chain’s continued efforts to woo more affluent customers, highlighting name-brand
products to impart quality.
Woes mount for Wal-Mart [Toronto Star, 8/12/07]
It was business as usual for Wal-Mart last Tuesday for a superstore opening in Peru, Ill.,
which is to say the mood was of righteous self-assuredness. A marching band played
“The Star-Spangled Banner,” store manager Mitch Lippert whipped up his troops
(“Who’s fired up!”)…You’d never know Wal-Mart Stores Inc. was in a heap of trouble.
Critics: Wal-Mart not all that ‘green’ [Arkansas Democrat Gazette, 8/31/07]
A group critical of Wal-Mart’s pay and benefits practices accused the world’s largest retailer Thursday of talking ‘green’ while degrading the environment with its rapid expansion across the nation.
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CONSUMER
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SAFETY
1730 M St. NW. Washington, DC. 20036
http://walmartwatch.com
Wal-Mart Watch is a nationwide public education campaign to challenge the world’s largest retailer to become a better employer, neighbor and corporate citizen. We bridge the gap between ordinary citizens
and community organizations concerned about Wal-Mart’s unchecked
growth and negative impact on our society. We challenge Wal-Mart to
embrace its moral responsibility as the nation’s biggest and most important corporation.
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