Walmart’s Bolivian Greenwashing
Jan 5th, 2011 by admin
Jean Friedman-Rudovsky has an excellent exposé
in The Broward–Palm Beach New Times of Walmart’s Love, Earth jewelry line, which purports to be “affordable, quality products that have less impact on communities and the environment.” Friedman-Rudovsky finds, though, that Walmart’s Bolivian supplier, Aurafin, regularly pays less than minimum wage to its workers and fires employees who try to unionize. It’s 
an eye-opening article that looks at the relationships between the large retailer and the many companies that supply it, the duplicitous claims that mislead unwitting consumers with vague promises of “sustainability” and “fair trade,” and how companies indemnify themselves through the use of subcontractors.
And yes, El Gav is back.
That’s the classic strategy: “we do our best to ensure that our many international suppliers live up the agreements we have made with them….” The fundamental question that needs to be asked is “does Wal-Mart believe that it is appropriate for laborers to be paid less than one-half of one percent of the retail price of a garment for its production? And is that a living wage?” They know the price point they will sell at, and they know the costs of the materials, since generally they ship those in through some tax-free “free-trade” zone, so it isn’t as if they can’t figure out what the laborers are being paid….
Where the hell are you these days? And, one post isn’t exactly “Gaviero is back…”