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Phosphates are common water pollutants that can come from detergents and fertilizers. When introduced into water, they stimulate the growth of algae, which depletes the amount of oxygen available for fish and plants.
Wal-Mart Americas plans to work with its suppliers to cut down, and eventually eliminate, phosphates from detergents. Brazil has so far seen the introduction of Ariel Ecomax, the first phosphate-free detergent available in the country.
In addition, Wal-Mart's U.S. based packaging scorecard will be rolled out by the end of this year to the countries and regions covered by Wal-Mart Americas: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Central America, Mexico and Puerto Rico.
Wal-Mart Americas is pushing to reduce packaging by 5 percent by the end of 2013 and get detergent suppliers to provide products that are two or more times concentrated by 2012. In the U.S., Wal-Mart has been a driving force in detergent concentration by stocking only concentrated detergent products.
The company is also launching Sustainable Value Networks in its markets to bring representatives from Wal-Mart, suppliers, academics, governments and other organizations together to examine and work on local challenges.
I think Wal-Mart is doing
I think Wal-Mart is doing good things with this kind of improvements and pushing some other organizations to reach this kind of goals.
Phosphate Free
Kudos to WalMart and others who are pro-actively removing phosphates from their detergents. Many states have banned or are restricting their usage, as they can upset ecosystems by stimulating the growth of some marine plants. Phosphates have been used to remove hard water minerals, in order to improve its cleaning effectiveness.
With prodding or legislation from the government, companies are now using their R&D departments to search for new methods and agents to reduce pollutants and to improve the environment.
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Robert Piller, experienced in green marketing campaigns and environmentally-friendly promotional products. His web site includes a comprehensive eco-friendly advertising specialty search, featuring over 250,000 eco promotional items in all price ranges, for anyone interested in going green. The site's handy search tool helps you easily find recyclable, biodegradable, organic or recycled imprinted promotional items in your price range and time frame. View the Go Green website at EcoMarketingSolutions.com and comment on his blog postings at GreenSpotBlog.com.