Wal-Mart product controversy
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Wal-Mart's product selection is a controversial subject. Examples of items that Wal-Mart does not sell are certain men's magazines such as Maxim, and emergency contraception pills. Critics point out apparent hypocrisy in that Wal-Mart sells other controversial items such as rifles and shotguns, R-rated movies, and violent video games — although Wal-Mart, along with most other retailers, did remove the video game [[Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas]] from its shelves due to a sexually explicit scene accessible by modifying the game's code via the "Hot Coffee mod" software patch.
Pharmaceuticals
In 1999, Wal-Mart announced that it would not stock emergency contraception pills in its pharmacies.http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/1999/05/14/health/main47233.shtml Wal-Mart claimed that it had the legal right to carry and sell whatever products its consumers and/or shareholders desired. In February 2006, three women filed suit against the company in Massachusetts after they were unable to purchase emergency contraception at their local Wal-Marts. The women won the suit and the Massachusetts Pharmacy Board ruled that Wal-Mart must stock the drug in all of its pharmacies within Massachusetts. Expecting that other states would soon do the same, Wal-Mart reversed its policy and announced that they would begin to stock the drug nationwide. The company has maintained its conscientious objection policy, however, which allows any Wal-Mart pharmacy employee who does not feel comfortable dispensing a prescription to refer customers to another pharmacy.http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2006/03/walmart_planb.htmlhttp://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/03/03/health/main1369355.shtmlMovies
In January 2006, Walmart.com was criticized for suggesting that African American-related DVDs such as Introducing Dorothy Dandridge and documentaries on Martin Luther King, Jr. were items similar to Planet of the Apes television series DVD box set. Wal-Mart quickly corrected the page. The company initially said it was a software glitch, though it finally blamed the matter on human error. Wal-Mart has apologized for any perceived insensitivities, and a few information experts believe Wal-Mart's explanation of the problem while critics have remained skeptical.[Walmart.com's listing of Planet Of The Apes: The Complete TV Series on DVD][News article describing Wal-Mart blaming Planet of the Apes online suggestions on employee error]
Books
In 2004, Wal-Mart was criticized for selling the notoriously anti-Semitic The Protocols of the Elders of Zion text on its website. Most scholars consider the text to be a forgery, but Wal-Mart's product description suggested the text might be genuine. The company ceased selling the book in September 2004. The document is still available for purchase from many other booksellers, who sell it in the interests of freedom of speech. A documentary film, Protocols of Zion (2005), connects the original document to a resurgence of anti-Semitism following the September 11 World Trade Center attacks.In October 2004, Wal-Mart canceled its order for The Daily Show's America (The Book) after discovering a page that depicts each Supreme Court judge in the nude. A week later, they returned copies of George Carlin's When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops? that they say were shipped to them by mistake. Its cover recreates The Last Supper with Jesus' seat empty and Carlin seated next to it. A Wal-mart spokeswoman said she "didn't believe this particular product would appeal" to its customer base.http://money.cnn.com/2004/10/28/news/newsmakers/walmart_carlin/ Both it and America (The Book) were made available on Walmart.com.
Promotion of ideology
Wal-Mart's early success was achieved in rural areas by "appealing to low-income, often very religious customers." Thus, Wal-Mart's product decisions can be viewed less as the promotion of a particular ideology held by Wal-Mart as much as a response to Wal-Mart's rural, religious target market.http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/2350/ Another common defence, sometimes argued from a free enterprise standpoint, is that criticism of Wal-Mart's product selection is misguided because Wal-Mart is free to carry and sell whatever products it chooses and that customers are free to shop elsewhere, and would do so if they were in disagreement with its perceived moral values.http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=5221
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