Helping Customers Make a Difference with Their Dollars

Today, at our home office in Bentonville we hosted our annual U.S. Manufacturing Summit and Open Call where we met with our suppliers and hundreds of potential suppliers who were here to pitch their American-made items to sell at Walmart. More than 2,000 people were registered to attend this event, and we had 800 buyer meetings scheduled as part of Open Call.

The Summit and Open Call are part of our $250 billion commitment to buy products that support American jobs. It’s having a tangible impact on communities. We’ve seen factories re-opened and jobs created in communities across America. And our customers love it because when they buy products made or assembled here, they can impact communities and be agents of change, too. They can create jobs with what they buy! This is no small thing to a busy Walmart customer. They can make a difference with their dollars.

In addition to creating jobs with what they buy, our customers can also do their part for the planet when they buy items made here. Here is a cool example: A company called Eco-tech is taking our icing containers that our in-store bakeries use to ice cakes – and they are recycling them to make pet bowls and even Easter baskets.

I love that model! It helps us run an everyday low cost business but also delivers great products for the customer that are sustainable and made here.  

And because we are making items closer to the customer, that’s fewer miles items have to travel. Once we have completed this initiative, we will have taken 2.5 million shipping containers off the water by making products closer to the point of sale.

Walmart is proud to lead this initiative. Making products here in America matters to Walmart, it matters to me and it matters to our customers. Working with our suppliers to find innovative products is what makes merchandising so fun. Look out for these great  items on our shelves and make a difference with your dollars.