Wal-Mart, Home Depot Go Green

Two retailing heavyweights went for the green Tuesday, as they unveiled environmentally friendly initiatives.

Wal-Mart(WMT), the world's largest retailer, and Home Depot(HD), the world's largest home improvement retailer, both announced plans to make it easier for consumers to identify environmentally friendly products.

Wal-Mart said it hoped to get a reading of consumers' attitudes and shopping behavior through its "Live Better Index," which will track purchases of five products: compact fluorescent light bulbs, organic milk, concentrated/reduced-packaging liquid laundry detergents, extended-life paper products and organic baby food.

The company said it chose these items because consumers can make a conscious decision to buy them for their environmentally friendly and cost-savings benefits, compared with conventional versions of the same product.

Home Depot said it was launching its Eco Options program, which enables customers to easily identify products that have less of an environmental impact.

The company said it identified more than 2,500 Eco Options products, including all-natural insect repellents, front-loading washing machines and organic plant food and vegetables in biodegradable pots.

The compact fluorescent light bulb, or CFL, figured prominently in each company's plans. Home Deport promised to give away 1 million of the energy-saving bulbs at its stores on Earth Day, April 22, as part of its Eco Options launch, and Wal-Mart has pledged to sell 100 million CFLs.

So is going green a bright idea for retailers? Scott Rothbort, founder of LakeView Asset Management and a contributor to StreetInsight dismissed the companies' actions as a publicity stunt.

"Come on," he said. "Be serious. Is there a contractor in the world who's going to walk into a Home Depot and say, 'give me the environmentally friendly stuff'? (The companies are) just jumping on the Al Gore global warming bandwagon."