Irony Part II

Wal-Mart, the US retail colossus that sells more stuff than any other company on the planet, is a paradox to even its most loyal customers.

"I hate Wal-Mart more than anything in the world," said Stephanie, a 52 year old housewife as she emerged from a store outside Washington DC yesterday, "They're just too big!"
An yet clutching a Wal-Mart shopping bag, she acknowledged that she's a regular customer and a shareholder.

"I come here because the prices are so good."

Wal-Mart has faced sex discrimination lawsuits, community protests, allegations of hiring illegal workers and a hefty dose of scorn in its 42-year history.
Barrie McKenna, Globe & Mail, January 14 2005

June 2004:
A US Federal judge in California approves a class-action sex discrimination lawsuit filed by six Wal-Mart employees who say they were denied promotions. The class now covers 1.6 million women who have worked at Wal-Mart since 1998, making it the largest civil rights suit in US history.


Factory Owners Cut, Run in Lesotho
JOHANNESBURG -- Six foreign factory owners have fled Lesotho this month, leaving thousands of people out of work after the tiny southern African kingdom and other developing countries lost a quota system that helped them get access to richer markets.

What changed over the holidays was the World Trade Organization's Multi-Fibre Agreement, which expired Jan. 1. It gave poor countries preferential access for garment production and limited the amount that larger, cheaper labour markets such as China and India were able to export to markets such as the United States and the European Union.

Without the quotas, garment makers in countries such as China, which pay workers less because prisoners do much of the work and there is no overhead cost of importing raw materials, have unrestricted access to the markets. Companies can now buy entirely from them.

"China is cheaper and there are now no limits on them," Ms. Chen said, noting that the factories that skipped the country without paying their workers were unable to do so because their businesses failed completely.

"The companies have responsibilities too -- and not only the Chinese or Malaysian firms fleeing Lesotho, but the brands like Zellers for whom they produce," Ms. Smiaroski said. "Ruthless brand-name purchasing practices discourage long-term investments and force local manufacturers to follow the lure of ever-lower labour costs. When the brand-names drive down the price they'll pay, and garment companies cut and run to the latest low-wage haven, they choke off a route for women to improve their lives."
Stephanie Nolen, Globe & Mail, January 15 2005