Ethical Standards and Working Conditions in Wal-Mart's Supply Chain

SECTION 1: BY THE NUMBERSAs do many major corporations, Wal-Mart produces an annual report outlining its corporatesocial responsibility practices, including efforts to improve working conditions within supplierfacilities. Table One, below, summarizes the findings of audits (both internal and external) offactories supplying for Wal-Mart over the past four years.Table One: Wal-Mart Supplier Factory Audits 2003-2006Question 2003 2004 2005 2006How manyfactories aresupplying forWal-Mart?7,700 7,600 (stoppeddoing businesswith 1,500 due tocapability issues)7,200 8,873Number of totalauditsconductedHow manywereunannounced?How manywere ratedGreen forhaving no orlow riskviolations?How manywere ratedYellow forhaving mediumrisk violations?How manywere ratedOrange forhaving high riskviolations?How manywere ratedDisapproved?How manywere Failed andbanned fromfuture orders?What violationsled to failures?14,750inspections (40per day; nearly300 per week)12,500 (30 perday)13,600 16,7001% 8% 20% 26%21% 21% 10% 6%43% 43% 37% 52%36% 36% 53% 41%0% 9% 1% 2%1% (103factories)Failures due tochild labor,forced labor,attempted1% (108factories)Most failures dueto child laborissues, one due toforced labor1% (141factories)Primarilyunderage laborviolations1%Primarily forcedlabor andunderage labor6