Wal-Mart Goes Green

Continuing its usual savvy marketing, better products at lower cost, Wal-Mart may give a big boost to organic products. Perhaps it has read about the Crunchy Cons, as well as the usual greenies. Tribune:

Wal-Mart plans to double its organic grocery offerings in the next month and continue looking for more products to offer in such areas as grocery, apparel, paper and electronics.

Stephen Quinn, vice president of marketing, told an analysts' conference this month that stores would have 400 organic food items this summer "at the Wal-Mart price."

Some Wal-Mart critics call the effort just a public relations job. But others say Wal-Mart could make a real difference if the retailer brings a critical mass of organic products to market and pushes enough suppliers to adopt green practices.

Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope, who is a board member of the union-backed group Wal-Mart Watch that criticizes the retailer, said it is too soon to tell if Wal-Mart will deliver but that the impact could be good for the environment.

This may complicate continued Democrat efforts to use Wal-Mart as a campaign issue.