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[symbioidlj]

Capitalist efficiency and the environment...

Wal-Mart's methods to cut costs on food via CNN/Money

You all know I'm not a fan of Wal-Mart (far from it, in fact).

That said, this is interesting:

General Mills' (GIS, Fortune 500) Hamburger Helper is now made with denser pasta shapes, allowing the same amount of food to fit into a 20% smaller box at the same price. The change has saved 890,000 pounds of paper fiber and eliminated 500 trucks from the road, giving General Mills a cushion to absorb some of the rising costs.
...
In April the chain began buying directly from a cooperative of Brazilian coffee farmers for its Sam's Choice brand, cutting three or four steps out of the supply chain.
...
By sourcing more produce locally - it now sells Wisconsin-grown yellow corn in 56 stores in or near Wisconsin - it is able to cut shipping costs. "We are looking at how to reduce the number of miles our suppliers' trucks travel,"

This is why I'm a fan of rising prices, it's going to force people to come up with innovative ways to reduce cost instead of coasting along. Higher gas prices lead to people thinking more about their driving habits, for example. And now this.

Don't get me wrong, it'll be a long while before I'm singing the praises of Wal-Mart.

I am, however, surprised that they're actually sourcing their coffee from a co-op. Very unexpected. Now, how much of this is corporate greenwashing?

Comments

[sophy.livejournal.com]

Of course they're only doing it to save or make money. If it would be cheaper for them to ritually sacrifice children - that's what they'd do. It just so happens a few of these actually ethical techniques will save them money. ;P

Of course I'm happy for companies to do these things no matter what their reasons are, but I think it's important to remember what Wal-Mart's bottom line is - the bottom line.

[symbioid.livejournal.com]

Well, that's basically my point. ;)