An annual survey has found that independent businesses had strong sales growth over the holidays and appear to be benefitting from growing public interest in supporting locally owned retail stores, banks, restaurants, and other enterprises. Continue reading
Walmart’s expansion is making our food system more concentrated and industrialized than ever before. Continue reading
Over the last decade, Walmart has emerged as one of the country’s largest funders of political campaigns. Its dollars skew heavily in favor of candidates who routinely vote against the environment. Continue reading
This tool kit provides guidance on how to block big-box development in your community, including tips on how to form an effective citizens group, fact sheets to help educate your neighbors and elected officials, and advice on intervening in the land use review process. Continue reading
We have compiled the best research on how big-box retailers and independent businesses affect communities and local economies. You will find summaries of the findings of dozens of studies that examine the impact of Walmart and other big retailers on jobs, small businesses, tax revenue, poverty rates, and more, as well as research on the social and economic contributions of independent businesses. Continue reading
Even as Walmart has been hyping its supposed environmental epiphany, it has continued to unroll vast, low-rise supercenters at breakneck speed. Since 2005, Walmart has added more than 1,100 new supercenters, almost all built on land that hadn’t been developed previously. Continue reading
In 2009, Walmart unveiled grand plans to create a Sustainability Index that would, within five years, result in green labels for all the products it sells. Two and a half years later, the project has fallen far short and seems unlikely to ever deliver a green rating system. Nor is there much evidence that greener products are edging out more damaging ones on Walmart’s shelves. Continue reading
In 2005, Walmart announced that it was setting a goal of being “supplied by 100 percent renewable energy” — and has since received a steady stream of positive press for its commitment. But six years later, the giant retailer still derives less than 2 percent of its electricity from its solar projects and wind-power purchases. At its current pace of converting to renewables, it would take Walmart about 300 years to get to 100 percent clean power. Continue reading
Chairs don’t hold together like they used to. Neither do toys, toasters, vacuum cleaners, or Levi’s. Walmart, with its relentless demands that manufacturers cut costs, has been a major force in making our products shoddier — and that has us heading back to the store more often to buy still more stuff. Continue reading
Under a measure that passed the House last Thursday, you may soon be able to invest in a portfolio of your favorite independent businesses. The bill, which won bipartisan support and cleared the House on a 407-17 vote, would overturn long-standing Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules that make it nearly impossible for small businesses to raise capital (or borrow money) from their customers and communities. Continue reading
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