Walmart released a long list of banned factories including many Bangladesh factories because of serious or repeated safety problems, labor violations or unauthorized subcontracting. However, the fact was that at least two factories on the blacklist were still shipping clothes to Walmart once and once again. Walmart spokesman said these factories were allowed because of confusion over whether Walmart’s standards applied. He also said that Walmart would publish the safety audits of its current suppliers, which was considered hollow.
Many garment retailers have signed an accord to pay for fire and building safety upgrades of Bangladesh factories. Unlike them, Walmart haven’t signed any accord. Instead, Walmart just said they would improve the safety standard without any legal binding.
Moreover, on the blacklist, Walmart didn’t offer any details about those banned factories, and many family businesses were unfairly tarred. They became victims without knowing reasons and accordingly got a bad reputation.
Walmart can be regarded as a hypocrite in this case. All facts show that Walmart in a way violated business ethics. In order to gain more profit, Walmart exploited those sweatshops in expense of others’ interest. Its behaviour somewhat violated legal issues as well.