REALITY
Consumer Testing Labs (CTL) is not independent
In an article in the The Wall Street Journal on March 7th former CTL executive Ron Caviness said 85% of the lab's business derives from Wal-Mart. The article further reported that the retailer has provided CTL with customer referrals, computer networking and equipment and, at one time, even office facilities, according to former CTL employees. In a 1991 Wal-Mart newsletter, CTL's current president described the arrangement as "independent in-house testing."
But that is not all. CTL’s president, Yefim Buzik, obtained a 24.5-acre parcel of land in Benton County, Arkansas, from Walton’s Rocking W Ranch, which is headed by Alice L. Walton, and there is no evidence of a mortgage for the property.
Alice L. Walton is the daughter of Sam Walton, the founder of Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club, who died in 1992. She lives in Fort Worth, Texas, where she operates a 3,200-acre ranch, also called “Walton’s Rocking W Ranch,” and raises cutting horses.
The transaction was recorded on March 24, 2004. The warranty deed for the land deal can be found here. According to the county assessor, the property was worth $152,000 at the time of the transfer. However, at the time of purchase, there is no clear evidence that Mr. Buzik secured any financing for this property. (One of Buzik’s other land transactions in 2006 was financed by the Arvest Bank, which is owned by the Walton family.)
Click here for the record that currently appears in the assessor’s office, which appraised this property at $151,900 with the value of the parcel as represented by the revenue stamps.
Even if Mr. Buzik did arrange to finance this property through some other means, there is ample reason to question the Walton family’s land deal with the president of Wal-Mart’s supposedly independent testing laboratory. A copy of the deed for the transfer of property can be found here.
CTL Does Not Meet Recognized Standards
Despite a nearly 20-year relationship that has included testing clothing, furniture and food, CTL until recently didn't have any of the laboratory accreditations that are common at large test labs. Last year, Wal-Mart stopped selling children's toys that were found to contain lead. At that time, CTL was testing all Wal-Mart's toys. But it was only within the past year that CTL was granted a Chemical Testing certificate by the American Association of Laboratory Accreditation to test for lead in nonmetals and metals.
Wal-Mart recently began shifting testing of most children's products to two large laboratories used by its retail competitors, according to a spokeswoman. "We're not using [CTL] as we had in the past," said Wal-Mart spokeswoman Melissa O'Brien. She said Wal-Mart continues to use CTL on many other products, adding that the retailer has been satisfied with CTL's test work.
CTL President Yefim Buzik declined to comment.
WAL-MART is famous for its low prices. Those low prices may come at a deadly cost. Dozens of recalls over the last several months have left many consumers wary of imported goods. Stories of lead paint on toys, flawed manufacturing, tainted food, and more have consumers on guard about the origin of the products they buy. Wal-Mart is a common thread in this story. It is often directly involved in a recall of particular products. Currently, Wal-Mart lists over 30 recalled food, product and pharmaceutical items sold in its stores and on its website. Consumer Testing Laboratories (CTL) has been responsible for testing Wal-Mart’s products for many years. While Wal-Mart asserts CTL’s independence and qualifications, the facts tell a different story and suggest that a stronger definition is needed in federal legislation of what constitutes an “independent” testing lab.