BENTONVILLE, Ark., April 22, 2024 — We’re on a journey to make more sustainable choices second nature. That starts with making them easy, accessible and affordable for everyone. With 78% of consumers expressing that a more sustainable lifestyle is important to them, Walmart’s omnichannel platforms can play a key role.1 And that comes in lots of different ways: from product innovation and packaging solutions, advancing access to recycling in communities, plastic-bag-free InHome delivery services, expanding access to clean energy for communities or finding budget-friendly ways for customers and members to find smart, mindfully made products every day — not just on Earth Day:
Energy Heroes: Products and services that spark efficiency
We’re working with recognized brands to introduce cool new ways to keep wardrobes fresh and crisp. For example, today marks the launch of Tide’s new Collab for Cold campaign, which promises to keep clothes looking bright and lasting longer while helping people save money and energy use (vs. the average laundry load) by washing in cold. You can save on average 90% of the energy used in every load and approximately $150 in annual savings, according to Procter & Gamble.2 They state, for example, that every load washed in cold, saves enough electricity to power the average American home for over an hour.3 Yes, please!
Additionally, our stores and clubs offer a diverse selection of Energy Star products, all meeting strict energy-efficiency criteria set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). And we’re rolling out community solar investments across multiple communities, which, once operational, will help deliver savings on energy bills to thousands of households, including low-to-moderate-income households.
For Walmart Plus members, services like InHome are also making those daily deliveries a little more… electrifying! Currently accessible to 35 million U.S. households, InHome has completed over 12.5 million deliveries since its 2019 launch. With a fleet primarily composed of electric vans, we’ve already covered over 40 million electric miles!
Right-Sized Packaging: Less plastic waste, more wow
Another area where our suppliers are working hard to improve packaging design is in our appliances aisle. Walmart is the largest seller of countertop microwaves in the U.S. and now, our latest private brand microwaves in the U.S. come packaged without the usual Expanded Polystyrene packaging (often called Styrofoam™) — helping deliver a better customer experience and eliminating an estimated 2,000 metric tons of plastic waste per year in the process.
Additionally, snorkel sets in Walmart U.S. are now sold in reusable travel/storage bags instead of plastic packaging while we work to cut all plastic packaging from our private branded bedding by 2025.
And over in ecommerce, we’ve been working on right-sizing packaging and consolidating shipping for a while now, along with transitioning from plastic to paper mailers for most deliveries, so your online shopping comes with less waste as well.
New Life: Less wasteful products and services
Whether you’re spring cleaning your closet or prepping your yard for spring blooms, we’re working to roll out products and services that embrace circularity. By reusing or recycling materials like nylon or rubber into new products, the practice of circularity helps give weathered threads and treads new life while helping reduce waste.
On the fashion front, we are piloting an initiative with Trashie, whose signature Take Back Bag offers customers a simple and efficient way to seek new life for unwanted clothing, shoes, accessories and textiles. Customers simply fill up the bag with unwanted items and send it to Trashie for potential reuse or recycling, mirroring the process of an online return.
Walmart and Sam’s Club are also integrating circularity into their home and garden lines with rubber mulch made from recycled rubber. Both businesses recently collaborated with Liberty Tire to launch the Member’s Mark Rubber Mulch and the Ground Smart Black Rubber Nugget Mulch.
We want to make it easy to celebrate Earth Day — every day. It’s why we introduced Built for Better in 2021, an online shopping destination that makes it easy for customers to shop for products that meet trusted standards for personal well-being and are better for people and the planet.
And in 2022, we launched Walmart Restored, through Walmart Marketplace, where customers can buy refurbished products listed by suppliers and third-party sellers that have been professionally inspected and tested to work and look like new — online and in select stores.
Each of these innovations represents one step forward to address plastic waste as well as build more sustainable habits — value for our home, our communities and the wallet.
1Nielsen
2In non-HE washer, 8 loads/wk from hot to cold, avg electricity rate (13.3c/kWh).
3Based on average American household electricity consumption, as reported by the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Washing in Cold Water | #TurnToCold with Tide
About Walmart
Walmart Inc. (NYSE: WMT) is a people-led, tech-powered omnichannel retailer helping people save money and live better – anytime and anywhere – in stores, online, and through their mobile devices. Each week, approximately 255 million customers and members visit more than 10,500 stores and numerous eCommerce websites in 19 countries. With fiscal year 2024 revenue of $648 billion, Walmart employs approximately 2.1 million associates worldwide. Walmart continues to be a leader in sustainability, corporate philanthropy and employment opportunity. Additional information about Walmart can be found by visiting corporate.walmart.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/walmart, on X (formerly known as Twitter) at twitter.com/walmart, and on LinkedIn at linkedin.com/company/walmart.
