This Earth Day, Walmart posted an account of the ways its namesake stores and Sam’s Clubs are making sustainable shopping easy and affordable. The company is also looking forward to another occasion, Mother’s Day, with a new membership promotion focused on moms.
Walmart described its sustainability efforts as a way to help make eco-friendly choices second nature for shoppers With 78% of consumers saying that a more sustainable lifestyle is important to them, the company noted, citing Nielsen numbers, that Walmart’s omnichannel operations can contribute to building a more sustainable further through everything from product innovation and packaging solutions to advancing access to recycling in communities, expanding access to clean energy for communities, and finding budget-friendly ways for customers and members to find smart, mindfully made products every day, the company maintained.
One initiative the retailer cited, Walmart Restored, launched in 2022 via marketplace operations. By tapping the program, customers can buy refurbished products listed by suppliers and third-party sellers. All products offered have been professionally inspected and tested to work and look like new, Walmart asserted. The refurbished product program initially weighed heavily toward consumer electronics but has become broader over time, with more small, cleaning and outdoor appliances included.
Walmart also is working on packaging design for appliances as part of its sustainability work. The largest seller of countertop microwaves in the U.S., for example, Walmart has shifted packaging for its latest private brand introductions in the product segment. The usual expanded polystyrene packaging element is gone, Walmart indicated, eliminating an estimated 2,000 metric tons of plastic waste per year in the process.
Other initiatives Walmart cited:
- In 2021, the company introduced Built for Better, an online shopping destination that makes it easy for customers to check out products that meet trusted standards for personal well-being and are better for people and the planet.
- Walmart and Sam’s Club are integrating circularity into their home and garden lines with, for instance, mulch made from recycled rubber.
- In a pilot initiative with Trashie, consumers get access to the Take Back Bag which they can fill with unwanted items and send to the Walmart partner for potential reuse or recycling.
- The company is reusing or recycling materials, including nylon or rubber, in new products as part of circularity practices that help give weathered threads new life while helping reduce waste.
- In e-commerce, Walmart has been right-sizing packaging and consolidating shipping while transitioning from plastic to paper mailers for most deliveries.
- For Walmart Plus members, services such as InHome delivery are supported by a fleet primarily using electric vans.
- Snorkel sets Walmart sells through its U.S. operation now come in reusable travel/storage bags instead of plastic packaging, even as the company works toward eliminating all plastic packaging from its privately branded bedding by 2025.
With Mother’s Day coming, Walmart revisited and updated a promotion it ran last year to tout mom-friendly aspects of its Walmart Plus membership program, including free shipping, savings on fuel, and online deals, as well as access to streaming service Paramount Plus. In 2024, the Mother of All Savings Memberships campaign includes a new interactive twist. that enables two-way conversation with a lineup of celebrity moms who share real-life parenting advice, from caring for newborns to raising teenagers to grandparenting.
Consumers who submitted questions using Walmart’s TikTok page can get responses from the celebrity moms involved, including Paris Hilton, Whitney Cummings, Kat Stickler, Tia Mowry, Aislinn Derbez and Babs Costello.
