Yes, I shop occasionally at Walmart. Certainly I am a supporter of buying local when possible, and most of the time you’ll find me in the local meat market and locally owned grocery store. But, that doesn’t mean I am opposed to buying from larger stores when it makes sense. And when I needed a new vacuum cleaner, Walmart was the best choice.

When I make larger items purchases now, I always add green factors into my decision process. So when looking for the vacuum, I wanted to choose a product that either had green features or was made by a company that had environmental practices in manufacturing. So my choices came down to two companies – Eureka and Miele.

Miele is a high-end manufacturing company based out of Germany. They have a very strong commitment to environment. I was already aware of their sustainability initiatives because we have considered their dishwashers for other projects. In fact, every year they independently audit their company for green issues and publish that report on their website. That great, that is an indication of a company doing well. However, Miele didn’t have any vacuums that had specific green features and as a premium product, their prices are higher than that of mainstream consumer brands.

Eureka, on the other hand, makes a line of vacuums that consume 33% less energy than a traditional vacuum. The Envirovac also uses a washable filter instead of a disposable one, reducing the waste and lower the cost of ownership of the vacuum. Eureka, as part of their sustainability program, have done a great job eliminating waste and improving recyclability in their packaging. In addition, they parent company, Elextrolux, does third-party auditing of the manufacturing operations world-wide. All available at an economical price point.

So, the Envirovac was the hands down winner for me. But, the only place the vacuum is available is Walmart. So, if I wanted this great vacuum, I would have to buy from them. To be honest, that was ok with me anyway, but unfortunately, there are people I know who would turn away from this great product because it was being sold by Walmart. That’s unfortunate, because I believe we should support companies that are doing it right. And in this case it was Walmart and Eureka.