As the world’s largest retailer, Walmart is constantly in the news. Recent stories deemed worthy of attention by journalists include relaxing the worker dress code and increasing store temperatures by one degree in response to complaints. But while Walmart’s public relations department attempts to distract the media with such petty matters, a new report from the Food Chain Workers Alliance (FCWA) uncovers far more important problems than wardrobe. The report, “Walmart at the Crossroads: the Environmental and Labor Impact of Its Food Supply Chain” (PDF), dives into the labor and environmental records of 22 of Walmart’s suppliers of popular food items, from chicken to bread to blueberries. The company has a history of broken promises, but the disturbing findings of this report take the big-box retailer’s hypocrisy to whole new level. According to Walmart’s “ethical sourcing” standards (PDF), all suppliers and their manufacturing facilities at a minimum “must fully comply with all applicable national and/or local laws and regulations, including but not limited to those related to labor, immigration, health and safety, and the environment.” But the report finds that Walmart has failed to enforce supplier compliance with its code of ethics for labor practices, environmental sustainability and local sourcing of food. Workers in Walmart’s stores and in its food supply chain endure a slew of labor abuses, including gender and racial discrimination, unfair treatment of immigrants, low pay, violations of freedom of association and even workplace accidents and fatalities.

Laborwashing

Walmart has set a rather low bar for the labor standards of its suppliers: All labor must be voluntary. Slave, child, underage, forced, bonded or indentured labor will not be tolerated. Suppliers shall not engage in or support trafficking in human beings. Yet the company has failed to meet it. Last year, for instance, a large seafood supplier to Walmart was exposed for its ties to slave labor. Thailand-based seafood exporter Charoen Pokphand Foods bought fishmeal for its farmed shrimp from some suppliers that own, operate or buy from fishing boats manned with slaves. The Guardian reported that “large numbers of men [were] bought and sold like animals and held against their will on fishing boats.” In addition, Rose Acre Farms, a major Walmart egg supplier was sued in 2012 by the U.S. Department of Justice for discriminatory practices against newly hired non-U.S. citizens, requiring additional or different security documents than what is legally required. In addition, in 2013, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reported that another major egg producer, Cal-Maine Foods, violated federal law by “subjecting an African-American employee to racial and sexual harassment and retaliation.” For years, labor advocates have challenged Walmart to pay its workers a living wage. To its credit, the corporation recently announced some small increases in base wages. But Walmart refuses to set a living wage as its standard, and for many of its suppliers’ workers, decent pay remains elusive.

Walmart should make sure its suppliers are following the law. Doing so would help workers a lot more than relaxing the dress code.

When it comes to foreign imports such as bananas, which are consistently ranked the most popular fruit in the U.S., Walmart has an especially important role in ensuring responsible practices: It purchase a staggering one billion pounds of bananas annually. And yet, according to the FCWA report, three major suppliers, Chiquita, Del Monte and Dole, have demonstrated harmful labor practices. While Chiquita has been praised for having a high percentage of unionized workers, its suppliers have ignored worker complaints. Del Monte has fired workers and rehired only those that accept wage cuts, and Dole has prioritized the hiring of temporary workers to save on benefits it would otherwise have to pay direct employees.

Greenwashing