Wal-Mart Canada Expands Private-label Green Cleaning Line

Due to its success, Wal-Mart Canada is expanding the GreenLine, its private-label brand of environmentally preferable cleaning products, to include a phosphate-free dish soap, dish detergent gel and dish detergent tabs.

Available in all of the company’s stores nationwide, from Yellowknife to Gander, the GreenLine now includes nine biodegradable, phosphate- and dye-free cleaners, without synthetic fragrances. Certified by Environmental Choice’s EcoLogo program, a leading North American environmental standard, the GreenLine is also certified to be better for the environment.

“Walmart continues to take green mainstream as we launch an ever-increasing number of environmentally preferable products, not just in the cleaning aisle, but across the store,” said Jim Thompson, senior vice president of merchandising and operations for Wal-Mart Canada. “Our aim remains bringing customers environmentally preferable products they can afford so they don’t have to make financial trade-offs when adopting more sustainable lifestyles.”

Since its launch last April, the GreenLine has grown quickly in popularity among customers. Priced lower than most conventional cleaning products, the GreenLine has been steadily gaining sales ground against traditional cleaning products.

“Our research shows that nearly three out of four Canadians cite expense as the main barrier to buying environmentally preferable products more often,” said Thompson. “We recognize that simply bringing greener product choices to customers is not enough to encourage adoption, we must also bring them to customers at lower prices so they don’t have to choose between products that are good for the environment and good for their wallets.”

For the month of April, Wal-Mart Canada has celebrated Earth Month in stores nationwide, by giving greater prominence to environmentally preferable products, many with new low prices. The move, designed to encourage customer consideration of green products, supports the company’s long-term goal to put products that sustain resources and the environment in the hands of customers.

In the cleaning category alone, Wal-Mart Canada carries a range of environmentally preferable products including reusable cleaning cloths, biodegradable garbage bags and recycled paper towels. Store-wide, the company carries over 900 environmentally preferable products, across categories like food and clothing, and is working with existing and new suppliers to expand this selection. For more information on Walmart Canada’s sustainability goals and efforts, please visit: www.forthegreenergood.ca.

About the GreenLine
Launched in April 2008, the GreenLine was developed for Walmart Canada by two young Canadian entrepreneurs, David Stone and Jeremy Quinn, the owners of Oxi Brite, a small Ontario-based household cleaning products company with a deep commitment to the environment and making products greener and more effective.

About Wal-Mart Canada
Wal-Mart Canada operates a growing chain of 312 locations nationwide, serving more than one millions Canadians each day. With 80,000 associates, it is the nation’s fourth largest employer. The company has three long-term sustainability goals: To operate a zero-waste business; To be powered 100 per cent by renewable energy; To make environmentally preferable products available to Canadians.