Saturday, January 17, 2009

Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price-Movie Recomendation

Have you seen this movie?! I was just lucky to catch it one morning while I was at work and it just awed me! I know that most big box stores have similar overseas factory practices so even though that part was horrible it didn't hit me quite as hard...though the thought that Wal-Mart most likely added the most fuel to the fire to keep those conditions so bad because of their demand for such low prices really does bother me. But I really was appalled at the way they treat the workers in their stores, how they don't allow full time and decent benefits, etc. Beyond that I am also very surprised at how much money towns/cities will give to Wal-Mart to open a store in their community...in some cases millions of dollars to come in and essentially shut down all of the locally owned businesses because of the "cheap" goods Wal-Mart sells. One would think that these towns and cities could find much better things to do with that money. The end did give me hope though because they showed places that the community stood up and said no, they wouldn't put up with a Wal-Mart there and actually stopped it from going through. It's amazing what a few people, compared to a giant like Wal-Mart, can do!

I don't know that I can ever step foot in a Wal-Mart again, it honestly sickened me that much. I'm also having a hard time going into any big box store now because I know that, if nothing else, they probably have at least some of the same overseas factory situations. I have been thinking about ways to save more money and this movie might have just done the trick for me!

I'm not looking for a fight, I do know some people have seriously considered all of their options-buying less, etc.-but may not have any other choice to shop there...if it is someone's last hope I don't begrudge them that. I just hope that the people that do have a choice and choose to shop there will maybe check out this movie and searously consider what they are putting their money into. I also wanted to see if anyone else had seen the movie and was moved as much as I am as well as recomend it to anyone else that hasn't seen it.

Here's a link to the website for more information: http://www.walmartmovie.com/

1 comment:

Ros Horton said...

I totally agree that Wal Mart's harm outweighs their good. One of our grocers closed their doors after they upgraded to a supercenter in our town. And their prices aren't that great. Low Cost? It's a lie. I don't go in there unless I have to.