I was trying to watch the news last night, I know a terrible habit, but my boys were bouncing off the walls (and each other). So most of what I heard was a few muffled words as they paused to breath before the roaring screams began again. Somewhere in all of that I heard mention of Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market. It instantly caught my attention, but I was unable to hear the rest of the story. Showing how out of the loop I am I got angry that Wal-Mart was coming up with another way to kill off small businesses andmake more moeny for themselves. But a quick search online revealed that this scheme has been in operation since 1998 and already operates in several countries. OK, so there isn’t one under this rock I keep hiding beneath. There’s my excuse for not knowing about these.
But I’m still angry. Wal-Mart creates huge super-centers that offer everything you could imagine in one giant store for a fraction of the cost. This wipes out most of the small businesses trying to make it. So then, once these small Mom&Pop stores are closed Wal-Mart swoops in to stick their own “neighborhood markets” in their place. Much like the Common Cuckcoo who lays their eggs in another bird’s nest. See the mother Cuckcoo flies down, kicks out an egg, and lays her own. Once the baby hatches it begs for food from the new adopted mother, growing at a rate much faster than the bird’s real babies. Thus they starve and die while the cuckcoo lives on to steal another’s nest. Wal-Mart is like a huge mother cuckcoo, and these Neighborhood Markets are the seemingly inocent eggs lying in the wrong nest. Pretty soon those eggs are going to hatch and begin demanding food, and it’s the few remaining real neighborhood shops who are going to pay.
Already the stores are being revamped to appeal to more people. This older article (from Jan. ’07) from EarthTimes.org says so much. Wal-Mart Enhances Neighborhood Market Design They are trying out new tricks such as “an increased selections in organics and produce” and “earth-toned colors with natural woods that define each store department that creates a ‘store within a store’ feel”. These Neighborhood Markets are supposed to “creates a more personal experience for the shopper”. Unlike the personal experience one could get by, say, shopping at a family store that has been open your entire life and run by people you grew up with. I suppose the same could almost be said here, except with Wal-Mart those people work behind the counter for less pay, less benefits, and they have to wear those ugly vests.
It certainly does seem as if Wal-Mart is trying to edge in on a friendlier image. A new green logo, earth toned colors, a softer look. I mean, that’s not at all like laying eggs that match the eggs in the nest you are invading. Is it?
We have a couple dozen Chico Bags that we use for shopping, going swimming, taking recycling, and more. I got them from Reusable Bags, where you can get almost any kind of reusable bag for any purpose. A friend of mine has several awesome baskets that she uses to shop with. They are cute, functionable, and she feels better using them. Not just from an environmental standpoint either. She ordered her baskets from Basket Africa, a Fair Trade company that provide healthcare, school fees, and community buildings for the weavers and their children.
Activist Mommy 