PHOTO FROM WALMART INTERNET ADVERTISEMENT
BREAKING NEWS. Sarah Noelle Hammond, who first brought this to my attention, has received the following notice from Walmart.
“This costume is appalling and it was unacceptable for a third-party seller to list it on our marketplace. It clearly violated our prohibited items policy and we removed it when it was brought to our attention.”
Thank you Walmart. Now let’s take this fight to the supplier, Rubies Costumes!
(10-22-16) Walmart is selling a Halloween item that glorifies suicide!
Every October, companies and television programs stigmatize and marginalize individuals with mental disorders, but Walmart has hit a new low: selling “Razor Blade Suicide Scar Wound Latex Costume Make Up.
Would Doug McMillon, the president and chief executive officer of Walmart Stores, think it hilarious if his wife, Shelley, or one of their two sons slit their wrists?
Perhaps Mr. McMillion needs a bit of education.
- Suicide is the SECOND leading cause of death for ages 10-24.
- Suicide is the SECOND leading cause of death for college-age youth and ages 12-18.
- More teenagers and young adults die from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza, and chronic lung disease, COMBINED.
- In 2013, the United States Department of Veterans Affairs released a study that covered suicides from 1999 to 2010, which showed that roughly 22 veterans were committing suicide per day, or one every 65 minutes. Some sources suggest that this rate may be undercounting suicides.
One of the first readers of this blog to tell me about Walmart’s tasteless offering told me about her daughter’s cutting. She wrote:
As a mom who has a daughter who did this for years we have to put a stop to this insanity!
Another wrote:
Our son ended his life at age 24. Do you know how painful it was when I saw this being promoted? Shame on Wal-Mart.
Shame indeed!
It’s time for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Mental Health America, and other mental health organizations, as well as, national suicide prevention groups, to tell Wal-Mart to get this offensive product off the shelves.
There is nothing funny about cutting or suicide.
I’m not sure how accurate these email addresses are but if you want to express your outrage, here’s the links:
Greg Foran
President and CEO, Walmart U.S.
702 SW 8th St
Bentonville, AR 72716
Greg.Foran@wal-mart.com
Chief Executive
Doug McMillon
President and CEO, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
702 SW 8th St
Bentonville, AR 72716
Doug.McMillon@wal-mart.com
You can also send an email to Making Change At Wal-Mart a campaign run by the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) to change Walmart into a more responsible employer.
And you can call Wal-Mart corporate at
PHONE CONTACTS
Main: (479) 273-4000
Toll Free: (800) 966-6546
To talk to a human: press 3 and then 5
Or email
EXECUTIVE CONTACTS
Additional contact info for Walmart Executive Office: executive.communications@wal-
Doug McMillion, Walmart president
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