Ethical Shopping -

Wal-Mart's Reforms Bring its Critics to the Bargaining Table

Zach — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 03:19:29 -0400

The public relations war waged by groups like Wal-Mart Watch and Wake Up Wal-Mart on the country's largest employer—and for a long time, biggest corporate villain—appears to be entering détente. Nearly half of the staffers at the two organizations have been let go, and Wal-Mart has in turn, scaled back its public relations efforts—which were ramped up several years ago to engender good will in the face of heavy criticism.

Coke and Pepsi Agree to Stop Advertising to Children

Zach — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 20:28:47 -0400

Several months ago, we told you about the controversy surrounding Pepsi's youth marketing efforts in Mexico, where childhood obesity rates have been rising at alarming rates recently. The same trends hold true in many other Latin American countries, and other parts of the world that have only recently become inundated with cheap, high-fat, high-sugar junk foods produced by companies like PepsiCo.

Does a Locavore Lifestyle Really Shrink Your Carbon Footprint?

Zach — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 19:33:51 -0400

There are plenty of benefits to buying your food locally or growing it yourself: supporting small farmers and businesses in your community, keeping your food genetically unmodified and pesticide-free, better taste, and of course there's the satisfaction that comes along with a DIY lifestyle. But one of the arguments for living "locavore" has recently come under attack from several economists who began studying the issue a few years ago.

Discovery Launches 'Planet Green'

Zach — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 15:20:28 -0400

Wednesday evening marked the debut of Planet Green, the Discovery Channel's $100 million gamble that the renewed zeal for environmental protection and carbon cutting will translate into ratings and advertising revenue. The later seems like a fairly simple proposition considering that the past two years have seen green marketing grow into a fairly ubiquitous presence on the airwaves. Planet Green already boasts some big sponsors like General Motors, which signed an exclusivity agreement to be the only automotive advertiser on the network.

Californians Consider Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act

Zach — Sat, 31 May 2008 22:37:30 -0400

In November, California voters will decide the fate of the Prevention of Farm Animal Cruelty Act, a measure that is designed to make California the first state to bar the confinement of egg-laying hens and other animals to small cages. Right now the industry standard is to pack the birds in as tightly as possible, and though the new law wouldn't bar caging them completely, it would provide for significant improvements in the lives of all farm animals, similar to those already enacted by the European Union.