Articles by Stacy Mitchell
Stacy Mitchell is co-director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance and runs its Community-Scaled Economy Initiative. Check out her TEDx talk, "Why We Can’t Shop Our Way to a Better Economy," and connect with her on twitter at @stacyfmitchell.
All Articles
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Can you say ‘sprawl’? Walmart’s biggest climate impact goes ignored
My, that’s a big abandoned parking lot you have.Photo: Rob StinnettEarlier this year, the New Jersey Sierra Club and the Pinelands Preservation Alliance tried but failed to block a permit for a new Walmart supercenter in the small coastal town of Toms River. The development, now moving forward, will destroy habitat for the threatened northern […]
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Walmart’s promised green product rankings fall off the radar
In 2009, Walmart created a stir when it announced that it would develop a Sustainability Index to assess the environmental impacts of every item on its shelves and provide an easy rating system to help shoppers make greener choices. CEO Mike Duke described [PDF] the index as “a simple tool that informs consumers about the […]
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Think Walmart uses 100% clean energy? Try 2%
Walmart is moving like a tortoise toward its clean-energy goal.Context is critical to understanding Walmart’s sustainability initiatives and their impact on the retailer’s overall environmental footprint. But context has been sorely absent in the news media’s coverage of Walmart’s green efforts. Even within the environmental community, conversations about Walmart tend to miss the big picture. […]
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Is your stuff falling apart? Thank Walmart
Forever in blue jeans, babe? Not anymore.Photo: bburkyMy friend Tony’s closet is as good a place as any to begin an investigation of Walmart’s environmental impact. Tony has a pair of Levi’s that date back to high school more than 20 years ago. They still fit him and they’re still in rotation. The fabric has […]
