When it comes to news, we at Wake Up Walmart spend an awful lot of time looking at articles that mention Walmart. Makes sense, but sometimes when we do that we miss places where the absense of Walmart is noticable.

Walmart has made a big push over the last few years to create the impression that it is responsible. It has a corporate responsibility code. It makes a big deal when it gives a few dollars to a charity (even when Brangelina gives more). It wants to “be green.“

Given all the time companies put into the public relations behind their ethics, you’d think that there would be some type of award from a corporate responcibility organization that would recognize this good work.

It turns out, there is!

“The research-based Ethisphere Institute is a leading international think-tank dedicated to the creation, advancement and sharing of best practices in business ethics, corporate social responsibility, anti-corruption and sustainability.”

Ethicsphere puts a lot of effort every year into compiling a list the World’s Most Ethical Companies. They get experts, accept submissions, do more analysis than an MIT graduate candidate, and publish a list of companies that it finds to be the most ethical.

Given that a) Walmart touts itself as super-ethical and leading the charge of corporate social responsibility and green business and b) Ethisphere puts together a list of corporations who act ethically, you’d think that Walmart would be on that list. I mean, it would only make sense.

But two weeks ago when Ethisphere issued their report naming the 100 most ethical companies Walmart was nowhere to be found. Looking back at previous reports by Ethisphere (they have been doing this list since 2007), Walmart has never made the cut.

We see two possible explanations as to why Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, has never been named by Ethisphere as a World’s Most Ethical Company: either Ethisphere doesn’t do a good job measuring the ethics of companies or Walmart’s ethical practices don’t live up to the hype their PR machine puts out.

Let’s just say we won’t be asking Ethisphere to redo their analysis.

After more than a year of controversy, the Borough Council in Exeter, Pennsylvania will vote next week on a Wal-Mart superstore.

Roughly a year ago, on March 26, 2009, Sprawl-Busters reported that the Planning Commission in Exeter, a small borough with roughly 6,000 people, had voted 2-1 to recommend to the Borough Council that land slated for a Wal-Mart supercenter be rezoned commercially. Residents against the supercenter formed a group called “Exeter First” to prevent the industrially-zoned parcel from being rezoned to commercial. The rezoning was essential to pave the way for a 153,000 s.f. supercenter on the undeveloped 15.5 acre site.

The Borough Council chambers were packed with residents when the Planning Commission met, and the rezoning vote came “despite residents’ pleas to hold off on a decision,” according to the Times Leader newspaper. The land Wal-Mart wants is the site of a former mobile home park, and is zoned light industrial. Wal-Mart argued that rezoning the land was appropriate, because the site lies inside a corridor that already has many other commercial businesses—but none of them nearly the size of three football fields.

Opponents charged that the huge development would overwhelm the sewage system in the town. Wal-Mart’s engineers said that despite creating a huge impervious site the store would somehow reduce flooding in the area, because it would have an underground retention basin to hold stormwater and release it slowly. Flooding is a major issue in Exeter, because part of this project lies in the Hicks Creek watershed, and the borough has had a moratorium on construction in the watershed because of past flooding problems.

I haven't posted for awhile because I'm finishing up a huge custom sewing project for a dear friend's wedding.  It has been a blast but all consuming and will be quite an accomplishment when finished.  Here's a sneak peek photo:

There are 5 all together and they are all from the same gorgeous silk, but all different styles.  The girls developed their own looks from designer inspirations and I did my best with their wishes.  Measuring, drafting patterns, and 12 mock dresses later, I cut into the silk. 3 are finished, 1 is half done and the last one almost ready to start. 

My house is a mess and my cupboard is getting bare.  DH is wondering where his Grocery Shrink went and I'm thinking it will be awhile before I attempt a project like this again (even though it was a blast.)

So the next post will be on a nutritious, inexpensive, quick and highly adaptable food I made to keep me sane during these several weeks–tortillas.

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When I go to the grocery store sometimes I forget my reusable grocery bags. I know that’s a heinous crime in the world of green living but yeah, it happens. So without my reusable bags, it’s easy to accumulate a stack of paper bags that get shoved under my sink. And the stack can get out of control fast. So here are a few productive ways to reuse your paper grocery sacks.Use it to ripen

The Consumerist, a consumer affairs and information blog focusing on consumer protection, is holding their annual “Worst Company in America” competition, where readers vote on what they believe is the worst public corporate citizen in a March Madness style bracketed voting system.

While last year Walmart went up against HP in the first round, this year they will be facing off against Kmart/Sears. Consumerist thought it would be a good idea this year to have the first round consist of industry match-ups, which makes a lot of sense. So we’ve got match-ups of Microsoft and Apple, Dell and HP, etc.

We suspect Walmart will win handily in the first round.

Where Walmart is going to see some competition is the second round, where they face either Bank of America or citibank. The American public is still mad at the financial industry, and those hard feelings could be evident soon in the competition.

Last year, Walmart made it to the third round, beating HP in the first round and Best Buy in the second only to loose to AIG in the third round. AIG won the championship last year, though we feel Walmart might have made it farther if it hadn’t had this tough competition in the third round.

People really didn’t like AIG last year…

Walmart has made it to the Final Four, in both 2007 and 2008, so let’s make it a winner in 2010.

So get in there! Vote for the companies you think deserve the Golden Turd.

Take a guess who we think deserves it.

If I would have to choose the one thing I hate doing as a grocery clerk is carding for alcohol. Turning someone down for not having their ID or if they’re intoxicated can lead to conflicts such as glaring, pouting, swearing, and threats. People have to understand that we don’t make the rules, we have to enforce them and there’s stiff penalties if we don’t follow them.

We get all kinds of characters; the underage teenager who doesn’t look you in a eye, the drunk couple, the belligerent swearing drunk guy, the terrible fake ID job, and the posse.

The posse is a bunch of people in one group coming into the checkout line buying alcohol. In Oregon, everyone who’s with the party must provide identification to purchase beer. In some states like California, only one person in the party can provide identification even if its obvious they’re buying several 12 packs of beer for their buddies. The posse is what I hate the most because usually someone in the group will try to influence you in selling them the alcohol after they’re denied for sale.

Seven guys come into my checkout lane with (4) 12-packs of Pabst Blue Ribbon…

Me: Hi, can I get your IDs please?

One guy hands me his California ID. The rest stand around looking at the magazines and our impulse buy candy section we cleverly put in our checkouts.

Me: Thanks but I’m going to need all of your IDs.

Pabst Lovin Californians: Why? I’m buying.

Me: Yeah but I have to card all of you guys. It’s Oregon law.

Pabst Lovin Californians: That’s stupid. We don’t do that in California.

Me: It’s not California.

Pabst Lovin Californians: Fine, we’ll go outside then.

Me: Doesn’t work that way. I need the IDs at the point of sale.

Pabst Lovin Californians: Dude, just sale it to us. We won’t say anything.

Me: Can’t guys.

Pabst Lovin Californians: Don’t be a square.

What’s a square?

Me: OK. If you can tell me that all of you guys can go into the bar with only [pointing to the guy who showed] his ID, I’ll sell it to you.

All of a sudden. I got really quiet.

Pabst Lovin Californians: Uhh…

Courtesy Clerk Johhny J: I’ll get the cart. Looks like I have go backs to do!

I always learn something about myself when I shop from my cupboards: I LOVE A CHALLENGE! I think I’m a challenge junkie because it kind of lights a creative fire under my otherwise lazy bum and I find that our food is just a little bit more interesting than on a planned week. Tonight’s dinner started with these ingredients…I cooked up the rice. I really wanted to use brown but didn’t have

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Target is gearing up for Easter dinner with some great deals! If you are a Starbucks drinker (Like my Husband!) then now is the time to buy at $4 a bag! It is also another great game week using Target and Manufacturer coupons together!
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I’m currently on vacation and I have about another week and a half before I start at my new store. Excited, I wanted to go and introduce myself to the manager and staff. I briefly spoke with the manager on the phone and was told to to come by. Well I came and was told the manager went home for the day. Great, I’ll just come by tomorrow. I called the next day just to be sure if the manager is going to be in and the phone kept ringing and ringing; no one ever picked up. That’s odd, I said to myself. It’s 2 in the afternoon, why doesn’t someone answer? I waited about 30 minutes and called back again. This time somebody picked up…

Grocery Clerk: Hello?

Me: Umm.. Hi, my name is Paul and I was wondering if…

CLICK!

What the heck!? Did they really hang up on me!?

Forget calling! I’m going to walk into the store looking for the bosses. To look presentable, I dressed casually, wore a black polo shirt, blue jeans with the crease in the middle, black sanduks (which by the way are super comfortable), and a few sprays of cologne. I see 3 checkers standing by the checkstands talking to one another…

Me: Excuse me, can I talk to the store manager?

Grocery Clerk #1: Manager’s not in today.

Again? I asked myself.

Me: Is the assistant manager here?

Grocery Clerk #2: Assistant manager is somewhere around here.

Me: Umm.. is the assistant manager on lunch or break?

Grocery Clerk #2: Beats me.

Grocery Clerk #1: When you find the assistant manager, let us know.

What is this the California attitude or something?

Me: Is someone in charge who I can talk to?

Grocery Clerk #3: Nope.

Wow. They must think I’m trying to tattle on them or something.

I walked up the aisles looking for someone who looks like management but I was out of luck. None of the employees greeted me or anything. If it was my previous store, the customer would have been greeted as soon as they came through the automatic doors and then greeted several more times as if they’re being harassed.

Frustrated, I went home and looked up the store on Yelp to see what people had to say about the store. I was shocked at the terrible responses and rating.

I should have done this first before I chose this store. What the hell did I get myself into!