...is a weblog about the liberal arts 2.0 edited by Jason Kottke since March 1998 (archives). You can read about me and kottke.org here. If you've got questions, concerns, or interesting links, send them along.
As a companion to an offline article about illegal logging, the New Yorker has a video that traces illegally cut wood in Russia to distribution and manufacturing centers in China and eventually a finished toilet seat is shipped to Wal-Mart in the US.
Watch the growth of Wal-Mart across the country as time passes. It's like a viral infection...you know, in a good way! (via migurski)
Forget the Red State / Blue State labels; the real question is Wal-Mart State or Starbucks State.
(thx, jason)
The total area taken up by all the Wal-Marts in the world is bigger than Manhattan.
A small grocery store in Emo, Ontario is competing with a nearby Wal-Mart by purchasing goods from Sam's Club and reselling them at lower prices than the Wal-Mart offers. (via girlhacker)
Big Box Watch is a map that displays future big box store openings in the US. The site currently tracks Best Buy, Home Depot, Ikea, JCPenney, Kohl's, Lowe's, Target, and Wal-Mart.
World map of where Wal-Mart gets its products. China dominates, Russia and most of Africa doesn't exist, and Europe is tiny. (via fakeisthenewreal)
Wal-Mart wants to sell 100 million CFLs (compact fluorescent lightbulbs) in the next 12 months. "Compact fluorescents emit the same light as classic incandescents but use 75% or 80% less electricity." Between this and the organic food, Wal-Mart is agressively pursuing green initiatives. (thx, brock)
With Wal-Mart selling more organic and Whole Foods expanding like crazy, organic foods are moving from the counterculture to "bean-counter culture".
Economist Thomas J. Holmes studies the diffusion of Wal-Mart across the US (here's a video showing the retailer's spread). Here's Holmes discussing how density considerations affect where Wal-Mart places their stores.
The Man Who Said No to Wal-Mart. "He looked into a future of supplying lawn mowers and snow blowers to Wal-Mart and saw a whirlpool of lower prices, collapsing profitability, offshore manufacturing, and the gradual but irresistible corrosion of the very qualities for which Snapper was known. Jim Wier looked into the future and saw a death spiral."
Comparison of Costco's labor practices with those of Wal-Mart. "While Wal-Mart pays an average of $9.68 an hour, the average hourly wage of employees of [Costco] is $16."
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