181_Is It Ethical to Shop at Walmart‪?‬ Adventures in Sustainable Living

Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast

Episode 181

Is It Ethical to Shop at Walmart?

 

Top of the list for most consumers is price and convenience. However, in our pursuit of such convenience we often sacrifice our money, our physical health, our mental health, the environment as well as the rights of all the workers upstream from where our purchase actually occurs. 

 

One of the challenges is that due to our current market place, there is an over abundance of choices. Consequently, most consumers tend to purchase from a huge conglomerate because we can easily find everything we need all in one place and it saves us time and money.  

 

But when it comes to best practices for sustainability, what about the little guy, the small business that cannot possibly compete with an international company? In our rush for convenience are we really making ethical choices? 

In this episode I am going to focus on one company, and that is Walmart. 

 

Welcome back everyone to the Adventures in Sustainable Living Podcast. This is your host Patrick and this is E181 Is It Ethical to Shop at Walmart.?

 

Sustainability question of the week

 

Is it expensive to live sustainably? 

 

Good news story of the week

 

The US Unveils the First-ever regulations to remove forever chemicals from drinking water

 

Our environment is widely contaminated with what is called forever-chemicals. These are a class of chemicals that will take hundreds to thousands of years to break down. The challenges is that these chemicals are widely used and are found in oils, stains, food packaging, waterproof clothing, adhesives, stain resistant furniture, fire retardants, and even non-stick cooking surfaces. 

 

These chemicals has been connected to a wide range of health problems depending on the class of chemical and the level of exposure. But common disorders are immune disfunction, various types of cancer, endocrine disruption, thyroid disease, developmental disorders, asthma, liver toxicity, and many others. 

 

But the EPA recently unveiled legislation that would remove these chemicals from drinking water. There are 66,000 water utility operators across the country. There is a 5 year plan to test for these chemicals and install the new technology needed for their removal. 

 

Records show that many companies knew about the toxicity of these chemicals but did nothing about it. Finally the Environmental Protection Agency has passed legislation to limit the exposure despite huge opposition. 

 

So, the round of applause this week goes to the EPA for helping to clean up the world. 

 

 

 

 

So, let’s get started with this weeks episode. 

 

First of all I want to make something very clear. The point of this episode is the same for many other things that I do. I want to make you question how you live, what you do, and the choices that you make. Then I want to give you some sustainable alternatives. I will make every attempt to provide you with accurate information. I am not going to say that businesses such as Walmart are part of the evil empire. Although, there are many who would disagree. But I am going to give you some things to think about. 

 

Most of you know by now that I spent years building a self sustaining homestead in the middle of the forest. It was the accomplishment of a life-long dream. 

 

However, I will be the first to admit that initially I was not focused on sustainability. To a great degree by default I was actually being sustainable. I focused on using as few resources as possible. I purposely built the cabins for maximum energy efficiency. I made attempts to provide as much for myself as I could from the land where I lived. But my focus was on self sufficiency. 

 

Over time, I began to focus more and more on sustainability by gardening, producing much of my own meat, and living solely on renewable energy. That said, I still have to take advantage of various businesses to purchase