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Black Friday Ads Target Wal-Mart

70% of Wal-Mart stock comes from China, ads claim

By Truman Lewis
ConsumerAffairs.com

November 19, 2007
Just in time for Black Friday, traditionally the biggest shopping day of the year, union forces are launching an ad campaign against Wal-Mart, claiming that 70% of the retail giant's merchandise comes from China.

The ad campaign is the brainchild of WakeUpWalMart.com, which was formed by the United Food and Commercial Workers two years ago after Wal-Mart blocked an attempt to unionize its stores.

The first wave of the campaign is a series of radio ads running in 40 markets through Friday. Television ads will launch in December.

"No one knows how many unsafe products are sitting on Wal-Mart shelves," the radio ads intone ominously, seeking to capitalize on public concern about unsafe children's products, pet toys and other cheap imports.

Safety a priority?

Wal-Mart objects and says that safety is "a top priority."

But in September, lab tests conducted for ConsumerAffairs.com found elevated levels of lead, chromium and cadmium in two Chinese-made pet toys sold at Wal-Mart stores. The test findings were published in their entirety on our Web site.

Rather than addressing the issue, Wal-Mart responded with a public relations blitz attacking the lab that conducted the tests and disputing the findings without making available any scientists or scientific analysis to support its arguments.

Wal-Mart never indicated it planned to remove the toys from its stores and in October, a ConsumerAffairs.com reporter found highly similar pet toys still being sold.

Earlier this year, Wal-Mart's Great Value brand peanut butter was recalled, along with Peter Pan-branded varieties because of salmonella contamination.

Families of at least four elderly consumers blame their relatives' death on the contaminated peanut butter and in June, the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention said it knew of 628 people in 47 states who had been affected by salmonella poisoning from the tainted peanut butter.

A few days ago, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled 36,000 children's storage units sold at Wal-Mart after an eight-month-old boy died when the Chinese-made furniture collapsed on him.

In July, Sleeping Beauty Crown and Cinderella Star earring sets sold at Wal-Mart were recalled because, like other cheap costume jewelry from China, they contained dangerous levels of lead.

Wal-Mart "exclusives"

Wal-Mart • General Complaints • Black Friday • Customer Service • Dangerous Products, Conditions • Grocery/SuperCenters • Lawn & Garden • Monogram Credit Card Bank • Pet Department • Pharmacy • Photos • Pricing Disputes, Errors • Returns • Sporting Goods • Tire & Lube • Vision Center • WalMart.com --- • Employees Complaints --- News • Black Friday Ads Target Wal-Mart • Wal-Mart Era Is Over, Wall Street Journal Declares • Consumers Respond to Toxic Wal-Mart Pet Toy Stories • Wal-Mart Expands $4 Generic Program • Lab Tests Find Lead, Other Toxins in Pet Toys Sold at Wal-Mart • Wal-Mart Plans Its Own Debit Card • Wal-Mart To Open In-Store Health Clinics • Wal-Mart Gives Up Bank Plans • Congressman Challenges Wal-Mart Banking Plans • Wal-Mart Expands Generic Drug Plan • Christmas Returns to Wal-Mart • Wal-Mart Jump-Starts the Holiday Shopping Season • Wal-Mart Cuts Generic Rx Prices To $4 In Florida • Wal-Mart Ending Its Layaway Program • FDIC Puts Retailers' Banking Plans on Hold • Wal-Mart/Sam's Club Settle with Connecticut on Pricing Violations • Congress May End Wal-Mart's Banking Dreams • Arizona Charges Wal-Mart, AutoZone with Consumer Fraud • Michigan Fines Wal-Mart $1.5 Million for Item Pricing Violations • Opposition Grows as FDIC Examines Wal-Mart Banking Bid • Wal-Mart's Banking Plans Draw Critics • Michigan Challenges Wal-Mart on Item Pricing • Wal-Mart May Stock "Emergency" Contraceptives • Black Friday Gives Wal-Mart a Black Eye • Connecticut Probes Wal-Mart Pricing • Wal-Mart Pushing Extended Warranties on Electronics • Bankers Oppose Wal-Mart's Entry into Banking • Wal-Mart Target Of Union-Led Boycott • Wal-Mart to Pay $14.5 Million for California Gun Law Violations • Wal-Mart Target Of Union-Led Boycott • Wal-Mart Tries to Buff Its Image

Millions of products sold at Wal-Mart have been recalled. Many were sold at other retailers as well but many others were sold exclusively at Wal-Mart.

Last year, Baby Cookie Monster toys made in China and sold exclusively at Wal-Mart were recalled because small parts could come off and cause infants to choke.

A similar hazard caused a large recall last Christmas, when Wal-Mart sold 56,000 stuffed Christmas beagles with small parts that could detach and choke children.

It's not just children's products that have caused safety problems for Wal-Mart shoppers.

Earlier this year, about 1.8 million multi-purpose gas lighters sold at Wal-Mart were recalled because they lack warning labels written in English. In July, 760,000 office chairs were recalled because could easily tip over.

In May 2006, 110,000 "Simply Basic" lighted mirrors were recalled. The cheaply-made mirrors had exposed wiring that posed an electrical shock hazard. In June 2005, it recalled 643,000 flimsy rocking chairs, but not until after 45 injuries had been reported.

Slow to report

Nor has Wal-Mart always been quick to report safety defects, as federal law requires. In 2003, the retailer was fined $750,000 for failing to report safety defects in Weider and Weslo brand home exercise equipment.

In 2004, it paid $14.5 million in fines for thousands of violations of California state gun safety laws between 2000 and 2003, including selling ammunition to minors and selling firearms to convicted felons.

Buy China

In earlier campaigns, WakeUpWalMart.com has tweaked the giant retailer for turning its back on founder Sam Walton's "Buy America" policy.

"Wal-Mart’s 'Buy America program' has become a 'Buy China' program that makes Wal-Mart and China stronger while weakening America," the group says on its Web site.

It says that Wal-Mart imports $22 billion of Chinese goods, making Wal-Mart the #1 importer of Chinese goods and says that Wal-Mart, if it were its own country, would be China’s sixth largest trading partner.

WakeUpWalMart.com spokeswoman Meghan Scott says she thinks the group's efforts are turning consumer sentiment against Wal-Mart, which she notes has had stagnant same-store sales and stock price over the past year.

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