Franchises take away and obstruct localization, and Wal-Mart is at the forefront of this franchising and the anti-localization that it entails. The documentary Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price addresses these issues (among others). So does the book Big-Box Swindle, which I recommend (even though I found the author's emphasis on buying from more local and more independent businesses to be insufficient to say the least; feeble strategies like that won't do).

Wal-Mart is also closely tied to the energy demands of 'developing' countries like China. Here's a recent article that addresses how Chinese natural material demands are tied to the First 'World': "China’s Not Alone in Environmental Crisis" (Unfortunately, the author doesn't take oil and gas depletion into account, but I'm sure you can see how the article relates to energy reserve issues.)

Of course, vast quantities of carbon energy are also burned up as products and materials are transported around the world...
for now--while supplies last.

Correction - This post is about franchises and chains rather than just franchises