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• Don't Cry: New Milk Jug Spills

  In an effort to lower costs - and, incidentally, a gallon of milk's carbon footprint -- designers of a new jug have left some people crying over little puddles milk spilled all over the counter. The milk is the same, but the jug looks and functions a bit differently. It's square, for starters. And the spout is sort of flush with the flat top. The jug's shape allows for stacking, less wasted space and zero milk crates. All that means more can fit in the trucks and on store shelves with less weight and fuel waste. And you'll save between 10 and 20 percent per gallon. Yet there's a bit of a learning curve in using the new jugs (somebody alert the Montessori schools!).   Read More... Posted Jun 30 2008, 01:02 PM by Madeline Holler with | with 5 comment(s) Filed under: Wal-Mart, NY Times, Costco, green products, montessori schools, learning to pour milk, don't cry over spilled milk, new milk jugs, greening the kitchen

• Girl Stung by Scorpion at Wal-Mart

  If you needed another reason not to go to Wal-Mart, here's a good one: It's possible you could be stung by a scorpion while shopping there. Over the weekend, a 12-year-old girl picking out watermelons at a West Virginia Wal-Mart was, yes, stung by an inch-long creepy critter that, apparently, got into the shipment of fruit in Mexico. Read More... Posted May 28 2008, 11:05 AM by Jen Chaney with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: Wal-Mart, West Virginia, child injury, Megan Templeton, scorpion, sting

• Hallelujah! Wal-Mart Sees The Light!!

  Just to update you on the saga of the brain-damaged woman whose insurance settlement was awarded to Wal-Mart - her employer at the time her minivan was struck by a tractor-trailer - because of a clause in her policy . . . Read More... Posted Apr 08 2008, 05:02 PM by asflutz with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: Wal-Mart, insurance settlement, boycott, public outrage, Deborah Shank, subrogation

• Wal-Mart Going After Disabled Woman's Insurance Settlement

  Almost eight years ago, 52-year-old Debbie Shank was involved in an accident that left her severely brain-damaged, with little short-term memory.  She lives in a nursing home, confined to a wheel chair, unable to care for herself. She was, however, awarded $700,000 in a lawsuit against the trucking company that caused the accident.  Once legal fees were deducted, the remaining $417,000 was placed in a trust to pay for Debbie's long-term care (an example of bloodsucking attorneys that could be a post in its own right). But Wal-Mart, Debbie's former employer, claims that money belongs to them, and filed a suit against the family.  And they won.   Read More... Posted Mar 26 2008, 01:33 PM by asflutz with | with 20 comment(s) Filed under: lawsuit, Wal-Mart, health insurance, insurance settlement, Debbie Shank

• So That's Why They Call Them Fun Straws

  When you're a mom, your days often take unexpected turns. Baby barfs on your blazer just as you're heading out the door. Your six-year-old decides to eat dog food just to see what it tastes like. Or you give your three-old a package of straws and realize some of them are shaped like male genitalia. Uh ... what? That's what happened to Andrea Bailey of Ashland, Ky., notes BoingBoing in a recent blog post. She purchased some Fun Straws at a Wal-Mart for her daughter, Ashlynn, and, well, turns out they were a little more fun than she was expecting. "Two of them are shaped like the male private area," she tells WSAZ TV reporter RandyYohe, who, God bless him, attempts to suggest that maybe the straws are supposed to look like rocket ships. But as a veteran newsman, he ultimately comes to the obvious conclusion: That's a wee-wee. Read More... Posted Mar 19 2008, 03:32 PM by Jen Chaney with | with 5 comment(s) Filed under: Wal-Mart, straws, consumer complaints

• Can You Leave Your Kid In a Locked Car?

  Oh lordy, this is a doozy. A woman in Illinois parked at a Wal-Mart to put some money in a Salvation Army can. Her two-year-old was asleep, so she left the toddler in the vehicle, locked the car and walked with two of her kids and a neighbor's child about 30 feet to make the charitable contribution. When she returned to the car an officer arrested her for child endangerment and obstruction of justice. She goes to court next week. The case has sparked responses ranging from passionate defense of the mom's actions to accusations that she's a bad mother... Read More... Posted Mar 05 2008, 03:01 PM by Kelly Mills with | with 21 comment(s) Filed under: parenting, cars, crime, child safety, Wal-Mart, carseats, arrest, justice, charitable giving, good mothering, endangerment

• Big Toy Retailers Tighten Toy Safety Standards

  In a stunning display of responsibility, toy retailers Toys 'R Us and Wal-Mart are both creating strict new toy-safety standards that will affect every toy they sell. New standards will include third-party safety testing (as opposed to relying upon toy manufacturers to churn out toys meeting basic standards...we all know how well that went in the past) and a ban on phthalates. Yay! Read More... Posted Feb 16 2008, 08:07 AM by Karen Murphy with | with no comments Filed under: toys, safety, Wal-Mart, phthalates, lead paint, Toys 'R Us, toy testing

• 10-Year-Old Gets Gift Of Christmas Porn

  Imagine:  you're a ten-year-old girl on Christmas morning, and you've just found the mp3 video player you begged Santa for right there under the tree.   You eagerly rip it open, turn it on - and find it already loaded with porn, violent war movies and drug anthems. Read More... Posted Dec 28 2007, 09:35 AM by asflutz with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: kids, Wal-Mart, porn, mp3 video player

• Where Do All the Recalled Toys Go?

  You know all those Date Rape Doras, Lead Poison Barbies, and Thomas the Tank Engine: the Evil Editions and all the other crappy toys that have been recalled? Yeah, well, maybe you culled your toybox and maybe you even returned your items for a refund or whatever, but...where did those toys go from there? Where are they now? What happens when toys have been recalled? You'd be surprised (cue music for the Island of Misfit Toys).   Read More... Posted Dec 24 2007, 10:49 AM by Karen Murphy with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: toys, recall, Wal-Mart, Polly Pocket, thomas the tank engine, lead exposure, barble

• Wal-Mart Removes Sleezy Holiday Panties For Girls...Errrr...

  Moving quickly past that headline, let's get into the ick story: Wal-Mart was selling some hot pink underwear in the juniors section. On the crotch it said, "Who needs credit cards" and on the ass, it finished with "When you have Santa". Perfect for our young girls, right? While the message is gross on a number of levels, we'll go with the most obvious: the conflation of young girl parts as a money-maker, and the presentation of Santa in a way that is far creepier than anything I could create on a personalized video message. Sugar daddy Santa Claus for our young ladies. Well, deck the halls.  So what happened? Read More... Posted Dec 14 2007, 08:21 AM by Kelly Mills with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: santa, girls, Wal-Mart, feminism, Money Camp, preteens, underwear, bad messages, feministing

• Things Fall Apart: Wal-Mart Kid's Storage Rack Causes Death

  This is one of my fears come true, and the reason a lot of my furniture is screwed to the wall: an 8-month old boy died when this Home Trends storage rack tipped over and fell on him, and the racks have been recalled. The baby was asphyxiated when the top rail fell on his neck. Ugh. It was the only incident reported on this item, but it's clearly more than enough to warrant recall. Read More... Posted Nov 17 2007, 01:22 PM by Karen Murphy with | with 7 comment(s) Filed under: recall, Wal-Mart, things fall apart, Ollie's stores, storage racks

• Next Problem: Pet Toys

  So you've gone through the toybox and thrown all the old lead-covered toys away, despite the loud protestations you heard around you as Dora went gleefully into the trash. You've scoped out some expensive German wooden toys and you've flirted with the idea of making your own, or maybe just buying toys someone else made. You've done everything a parent could do to keep their kids safe from the Lead Toy Death March. But what about pet toys? Read More... Posted Sep 19 2007, 03:47 PM by Karen Murphy with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: China, Wal-Mart, pets, lead in toys, pet toys, China-made toys

• Cough it Up: Toys Are Gonna Cost You More Next Year

  You didn't think that getting safer toys was going to be cheap, did you? We've already talked about the higher cost of safer and non-Chinese-made toys, which usually involve a lot of wood, but what if your kid wants a Barble? What then? Barbie's gonna cost you about another 10%, not such a big deal maybe on a $7 item (is that all they cost??), but bigger-ticket items, which still need to meet safety standards, will cost substantially more on that 10%. Read More... Posted Sep 15 2007, 08:16 AM by Karen Murphy with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: toys, barbie, safety, Wal-Mart, Toy safety, toy prices

• Another Reason Not to Shop at Wal-Mart

  You know, in case you needed one.  Which, really, you don't.  Wal-Mart de Mexico, like Wal-Mart U.S., takes pride in cutting costs wherever they can, and their cheap philosophy extends underage "volunteer" grocery baggers, coming dangerously close to being criminal.  The 19,000 teenage grocery baggers working in Wal-Mart stores across Mexico are laboring under large blue signs reading "OUR VOLUNTEER PACKERS COLLECT NO SALARY, ONLY THE GRATUITY THAT YOU GIVE THEM."  Read More... Posted Aug 02 2007, 11:06 AM by Alisyn with | with 8 comment(s) Filed under: teens, Wal-Mart, mexico, teen business, corporate irresponsibility, exploitatioln of children, child workers

• Maybe Jesus Can Save your Kids from Bratz Dolls

  Look. I hate Bratz dolls just as much as any mother who is trying to prevent her daughter from becoming a complete slut when she grows up. Barbie is still pretty unrealistic, but at least she doesn't look like a hooker. I am all for a more wholesome alternative, but this may be taking the whole thing a little bit to far in the other direction. Bible action figures. It would be like having the nativity year round! These Purity Dolls will be available at Wal-Mart. Of course, Wal-Mart, the censoring, fascist, evil empire. Now I am not trying to say that I myself don't have a Jesus action figure (or two) but I assure you they were purchased purely for the hilarity. I got one as a gift one time. When it took five weeks to get from California to Florida the sender was pretty sure she was being smote for blasphemy, but really the post office just misplaced my package.      [ thanks to Whit for the link]  Posted Jul 19 2007, 10:31 AM by Sarah, Goon Squad Sarah with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: Wal-Mart, bratz, Bible action figures, Purity Dolls

• Wal-Mart Now Selling Religion, One Toy at a Time

  Hey! If you've been looking for alternative to Bratz dolls, maybe a Samson action figure will do the trick! That's what Wal-Mart is betting on, anyway, as they enter the faith-based toy marketing arena. Next month, 425 Wal-Mart stores (just a drop in the bucket of the Evil Empire) wil begin carrying toys by One2believe, self-appointed "messengers of faith" who are singlehandedly carrying on the "battle for the toy box" (is it me or are these guys a little...scary?). Wal-Mart critics agree that the retailer's altruism factor or commitment to religion seems to be eclipsed by simple capitalism. After all, who knows better how to make a buck? Or several bazillion of them? But parents looking for a faith-based alternative likely won't mind and instead will zero in on the 2 feet of toy shelf space being allotted to these new toys in targeted Wal-Marts with a high volume in Bible sales.   Posted Jul 18 2007, 10:06 AM by Karen Murphy with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: toys, religion, capitalism, Wal-Mart, faith-based toys, One2believe, battle for the toy box

• Things Fall Apart: More Cheap Lead Jewelry! Disney Earrings!

  What do you get when you mix Disney merchandising + Wal-Mart + things made in China + cheap children's jewelry? Why, yet another lead-filled recall, that's what! Fortunately these lovely lead-filled earrings were only sold in Florida Wal-Marts, so the chances of owning one is slim. Nevertheless, we're talking two different sets here, one pink Sleeping Beauty/crown set and the other a blue Cinderella/star set. If you own these, you're advised to take them away from your child and then and only then you can email the manufacturer or call them at (800)766-0980 to collect your whopping refund of about $5. Posted Jul 18 2007, 08:29 AM by Karen Murphy with | with 2 comment(s) Filed under: disney, recall, Wal-Mart, things fall apart, earrings, cheap jewelry

• Disney Knows Middle Aged Women and Tweens.

  This might come as a shock but Disney finds a "powerful market" and targets it. The latest target is the 9 to 14-year-old 'Tweens' who are driving an estimated $400 million market, all driven by the power of rolling eyes and whining. Miley Cyrus, star of "Hannah Montana" and daughter of Achy Breaky One Hit Wonder Billy Ray is the latest Tween star to join the force. Because Tweens think parents are sort of lame, but still need their wallets to fund their personal style, the newest Disney look is designed to appeal to Tweens but toes the line between "fashionable and trendy" but doesn't cross the line to slutty.  According to Disney's Donna Sheridan, "We have to strike a balance between what the girl wants and what the mother wants." Which is funny because I sort of don't want my daughter to wear any merchandise licensed by Disney and sold at Walmart, rhinestones or not. Color me Anti-American! Posted Jun 26 2007, 09:04 AM by Melissa Summers with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: disney, fashion, tweens, Wal-Mart, disney channel

• Can I Bum A (Candy) Smoke, Kid?

  A new study out of the University of Rochester suggests that kids who play with candy cigarettes are predisposed to become smokers later in life.  Dr. Jonathan Klein's research data shows that 22 percent of current or former smokers had also regularly consumed candy cigarettes, while only 14 percent of those who have never smoked had eaten or played with candy cigarettes often or very often.  In the good doctor's opinion, "The continued existence of these products helps promote smoking as a culturally or socially acceptable activity." My friend and I were amazed when we indulged our girls in popsicles from the ice-cream truck last week,  and right there next to the bubble tape and licorice ropes, were packets of candy cigarettes.  No one bought any, but we both reminsced about playing with them as kids (remember the little poof of "smoke" that comes out?), and are both - surprise! - former smokers.  Is there a link?  Very possibly.  So why candy cigarettes still out there?  When even Wal-Mart won't sell them, you know they've got to be bad. Posted Jun 20 2007, 09:09 AM by Alisyn with | with 1 comment(s) Filed under: Wal-Mart, research, kids and safety, candy cigarettes, university of rochester, kids and smoking

• Is Wal-Mart Too Evil for Parents?

  Those who travel through the parenting territories of the Blog-O-Sphere know that there are a number of hot button topics, which when brought up tend to lead to discussions bearing an uncanny, almost eerie resemblance to the one depicted here. Absolutism, in case you haven't noticed, is the bread-and-butter of many a parenting blog, and Evil can be found everywhere, from parents who (gasp!) give their babies formula to a certain cadre of happy-go-lucky Australian entertainers who extoll the virtues of fruit salad and New York firefighters. One big (big, as in "makes more money than most of the nations on Earth" big) target of derision is Wal-Mart. Full disclosure: I rarely shop there, for a number of reasons (chief among these - the greeters, with their empty smiles and lifeless eyes...black eyes, like a doll's eyes...when they come at you, they don't seem to be living...), and I don't really have an opinion of Wal-Mart (other than "the greeters, they ain't right") either way. But a lot of parents choose not to shop there, for reasons that are decent ones: the company has a reputation as a low-paying, small business-crushing behemoth that's made its fortune on the backs of sweatshop slaves. Thus we have the argument over Wal-Mart - whether or not it's morally right to shop there. So is Wal-Mart really evil? Read More... Posted Jan 24 2007, 05:34 AM by JasonAvant with | with 3 comment(s) Filed under: shopping, anti-consumerism, parenting philosophies, capitalism, Wal-Mart, commerce