Wal-Mart, More of a Dirty Brown Color

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Wal-Mart has begun selling its own brand of inexpensive compact fluorescent lightbulbs, according to a Reuters article, as part of its effort to be more environmentally responsible. Called “Great Value” bulbs, they are “a more accessible option for our shoppers as we strive to sell 100 million CFLs by the end of 2007,” said Wal-Mart General Merchandise Manager Andy Barron.

But, while Wal-Mart pushes its customers to be more green, the company itself has a long way to go, according to the folks over at Wal-MartWatch. A comprehensive report released this month called “It’s Not Easy Being Green: The Truth About Wal-Mart’s Environmental Makeover” discusses the tremendous amount of electricity used by the company, as well as its impacts on green space and wildlife, and contributions to sprawl and water pollution due to parking lot runoff. It also notes that, contrary to the company’s public relations efforts, Wal-Mart still throws most of its financial support to politicians with terrible environmental voting records.