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Voting for sustainability with dollars

Derek Newberry — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 10:58:02 -0400

Hi Tim,

Thank you for your thoughtful comment- I actually heard mention of CleanFish from Gil Friend's blog posting on WorldChanging.com, and I'm equally optimistic that producers like yourself and Primar will find growing markets in the coming years. In regards to WalMart I would have to agree- the company has been on a sustainability kick recently but it does remain to be seen how much they are willing to actually put their money where their mouth is, so to speak. Of course, to play the role of the cynic, WalMart cannot be expected to pay more for organic shrimp anymore than it can be expected to have better HR pratices without incentive from consumers. As you point out the onus lies on us as customers to let WalMart know where we stand....

-Derek

Shrimp, sustainability, small is beautiful

Tim o'Shea — Sat, 09 Sep 2006 09:45:37 -0400

At CleanFish, as suggested in Gil Friend's post over a year ago, we are finding the market is ready to vote with real dollars in market sectors that can be more than big enough to allow producers to thrive. And, the population that recognizes the vital links between quality, taste, and sustainability is growing. The moves of Wal-Mart are certainly significant market indications of change. What is not yet clear is if Wal-Mart's very public commitments will be followed by actions that indicate that the buyers for that big box monster understand how to include the value for human and natural capital resources in their well established commitment to financial capital resources. Can a company that is willing to take short cut measures toward employees that clearly factor in government health safety nets, and food stamps as part of their Human Resources policies, take care of the delicate balances of fish stocks in the wild? There is much left to unfold. How do we, as more responsible consumers want to vote with our dollars? That is the real question.

New Ventures Feature Article on Primar

Derek Newberry — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 16:56:38 -0400