Wal-Mart's eco-labeling mandate

Wal-Mart, the country's largest retailer, announced July 15 that it will institute a new policy requiring all of its product suppliers to calculate the environmental costs of their products. These costs will then be tabulated into an easy-to-understand green rating. Wal-Mart (WMT) plans to post these ratings next to the price tags on products.

Some retail experts say this new policy will needlessly raise prices by forcing vendors to do extra work and change packaging styles, which could result in price increases of 1 to 3 percent. Others say consumers will not bother with the new eco-labels.