Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price

Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price, by Robert Greenwald, explores the multinational American retail giant Walmart and the negative effects of its business practices. Set across three continents, it shares the personal stories of workers, families and small business owners, interspersed with archival footage of former Walmart CEO Harold Lee Scott Jr praising the company.

The film focuses heavily on the treatment of employees and argues that they are underpaid, and that the company even hires undocumented workers for cleaning roles so it can pay below the minimum wage. Overseas, in factories where workers make Walmart products, conditions are poor and pay is lower still. Other allegations in the documentary include claims that the chain negatively impacts small family businesses and has inadequate environmental protection policies in place. Greenwald reports that a positive solution adopted by some communities has been to block stores from opening in the first place.