Wal-Mart Stores Inc. found a higher rate of severe violations at foreign factories last year as it stepped up inspections for labor and environmental standards in more than 60 countries where it buys clothes, toys, shoes and other products, it said in a report. Only 23 factories were cut off from Wal-Mart's business for repeated violations, a sharp decline from 1,200 in 2004. But the retailer said that was in part because of a change in its auditing rules. It expects the number to increase again this year.
See "Wal-Mart Finds More Foreign Violations", Marcus Kabel, San Francisco Chronicle, September 26, 2006