It is no surprise that the growing relocalization movement has spawned an attempt at corporate cooptation. But relocalized communities are inherently authentic, local ecosystems that cannot be faked. People looking for local relationships will not be swayed by a McDonald's ad hyping its New England cred.

A number of articles have sprung up branding this new form of corporate greenwashing as "localwashing." One article in Forbes outlined some of the ongoing debate, then weighed in on the side of the local-washers because it's good for business. Another piece in Grist lays out some great localwashing examples, in pictures.

And now Wal-Mart has officially joined the localwashing fun. After decades of simultaneously hurting local economies and the planet, Wal-Mart executives started to see the writing on the wall and began to embrace the concept of "sustainability". And now their Heritage Agriculture program is, like Whole Foods, working with local farmers and produce suppliers to create business opportunities that transform the agricultural landscape:

We take it as a good sign that corporations, from Citgo to Starbucks to Wal-Mart, are trying to position themselves as local businesses and part of a community. They are simply responding to inevitable shifts in the global economy and a growing localization movement, which is becoming more sophisticated as it grows. And as long as virtually all decision-making and profit-making takes place outside of a community, we think they'll have an expensive road ahead of them trying to convince people otherwise.