A semi-nice word about an evil giant

I never shop at Wal-Mart. Certainly, it is not the only corporation that is reckless and inhumane in its policies, but it is among the biggest (while ExxonMobil is again the world's largest corporation, Wal-Mart held that role for a while, and it's still the largest retailer) and most high profile.

There are a whole number of areas where Wal-Mart's policies hurt the planet and its people, but company executives aren't totally blind and deaf to the image of their company, and it is in their best financial interest to counter the constant stream of negatives. Like McDonald's, Wal-Mart has taken some small steps in recent years to be more green, more sensitive and more responsive to the public. Today's Globe notes that the retail giant has a blog -- supposedly honest and unedited -- where some of its buyers comment on products and solicit feedback.

Wal-Mart, McDonald's and Exxon (still fighting the nearly 20-year-old Exxon Valdez court decision) are still terrible corporations and they are motivated completely by the bottom line rather than any sense of decency, but when they make the slightest gesture toward being more decent entities I am not against offering a word of praise.