• 
• 
• 

The recently released book, entitled "The Retail Revolution: How Wal-Mart Created a Brave New World of Business" by Nelson Lichtenstein, paints a disturbing story of the hidden costs in the corporation's drive to offer consumers the lowest prices possible for goods.

Wal-Mart may be known in the United States as the cheapest and biggest of all the giant hypermarts with its slogan, "Save Money. Live Better", but it's also known for its staunch anti-union stance. And since it is very aggressive in expanding and undercutting competitors' prices, it is literally forcing workers in other companies to make more concessions for their employers.

Wal-Mart's own blue-collar staff, the lowest rung in the company's 2.1 million employees, according to the book, are paid salaries that are close to minimum wage and only receive health insurance if they buy into a plan laden with deductibles and co-payments.

These workers suffer from having to work irregular hours as their shifts are frequently changed, sometimes on a weekly basis. Some staff members on duty look tired, sleepy and grumpy. Yet they have to make all these adjustments just to accommodate the needs of the store. With a record staff turnover of 70 per cent in 1999 and with 67 per cent regularly quitting within the first 90 days of joining, the author claims that the circumstances make it difficult for any of these blue-collar workers, especially those with children, to earn a decent living.

Sure, most of the goods being sold at Wal-Mart are cheaper than those at competing stores, but one might have to ask "what price do these cheap goods come at?"

Similarly, the hidden cost of the cheap Thai shrimp exported to the United States is the intense damage done to the soil the shrimp farms are located on - an ecological disaster that both Thai and foreign consumers end up having to pay for.

Clearly there should be a limit to how cheap things can or should get. For instance, anyone who consumes instant noodles or canned food all the time will eventually end up hurting their health and will have to pay dearly both in time and funding medical treatment.

In other words, everyone ranging from the producers, suppliers to the end consumer, and even Mother Earth, end up having to pay the real and hidden costs for goods and services.

In Thailand, the battle between giant hypermarts and small mom-and-pop stores is far from over. As we witness Wal-Mart continuing to expand in the US, we might want to pause and think about the trade-offs workers, consumers and nature have to make.

There may be no easy answer as to where the balance lies or how it can be struck, but cheaper is apparently not always better - not even in countries like Thailand, which are known for manufacturing cheap goods.

A bigger view of the whole chain of production, consumption, profits and exploitation of labour and nature as well as society must be taken into consideration. More awareness of hidden costs is needed as we continue our consumption cycle daily.