Why Seventh Generation Selling To Wal-Mart Is NOT A Sign Of The Apocolypse

Wal-Mart. They're the quintessential money-hungry, community-destroying, planet-screwing corporate giant...right?

Maybe.

So why will products of the sustainability poster child, Seventh Generation, appear on its shelves in the next few weeks? Jeffrey Hollender, co-founder of Seventh Generation, explains it himself on GreenBiz.com:

So why are we selling to Walmart? The short answer is because it's time and we should. By this, I mean two things:

First that Walmart is not the same company it was even five years ago. It's a much different organization that has fairly dramatically and with little fanfare transformed itself into a serious sustainability leader. A few months ago, I wrote a long post about just how much remarkable progress the retailer has made and the tremendous level of positive influence it's now wielding on its employees, customers, suppliers, and communities. I won't repeat all that here. Suffice it to say that Walmart has come a very long way and is committed to going a great deal further.

Second, Walmart's size means we'll reach people and places we couldn't reach before and help countless more families lead safer, healthier lives. From rural outposts to inner cities, we'll get much closer to fulfilling our mission to help all consumers protect the planet and themselves from harm.
New access to our products will do some of this work, but not all of it. We're also partnering with Walmart to advance our shared sustainability goals in part through participation in a Walmart working group focused on improving the safety of chemical-intensive products, and we'll be helping Walmart educate shoppers about why the product choices they make matter so very much.

Triple Pundit says that Hollender's ability to admit his error of formerly swearing to never do business with Wal-Mart, cooperate with Wal-Mart to improve their sustainable practices, and see the big picture illustrates just how sharp he is indeed.

I think we could all learn a lesson from Jeffrey Hollender. Why not celebrate the small steps people make towards living greener -- whether that be yourself, your neighbor, or a retail giant. One thing is for sure, if everyone is afraid of being accused of "not doing enough", they won't do anything at all. Thanks Seventh Generation, for showing us that in the real world.