A few months ago, I found out in horror and great embarrassment that “Marin County generates the most garbage per capita of any county in the country” (Redwood Landfill’s District Manager Jessica Jones, Ross Valley Reporter, 8/25/09). Yes, you read that right! Ironically, I live in the trashiest place in the whole country! Interestingly, the county’s “green” reputation is one of the reasons we chose to move here. Oh, it’s green all right, full of parks and redwood trees, but that’s as green as it goes. What are the eco hippies that this county is known for, doing? Perhaps hugging the trees…
I even bought a pair of clogs to fit in when we relocated here 3 years ago… I wore them once on Coastal Cleanup day. Climbing and picking up trash in the rocks was not easy with those things on. I even envied my better equipped friend’s Wellies! I donated the clogs back to Salvation Army that week. I guess I should have realized that day, that I had joined a careless community: picking up plastic bags, empty bottles, fishing line, styrofoam bits, shoes (?...), cigarette buds… The kids looked like they hit the jackpot when they found a piece of Lego they could reuse though. They were in a positively better state of mind than I was:
How can an educated community be so clueless about their environmental impact?
And then I sat foot in Whole Foods. The local store reputed for caring about the environment. But do they? Do they do everything they can to help their community reduce waste? Do they know our county’s sad record? Do they understand that they sell some of the trash responsible for our county’s sad record?
This is my letter to them a couple of weeks ago…
Hello:
I live in Mill Valley and blog about zero waste (zerowastehome.blogspot.com). I plan on writing an article about "What my local Whole Foods could do", and I thought it would only be fair to give you heads up on the list that I will post. Your comments are welcome. You can also pass this on to whoever at Whole Foods is concerned about helping Marin residents get to the Zero Waste Goal by 2025.
-make bulk cheaper than packaged: potatoes, cauliflower, baking soda, croissants, etc… are cheaper in a bag/box at your stores.
-sell more bulk: staple items such as olive/cooking oils, vinegar, pastas, laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent should be available
-sell affordable cloth bags for bulk, and display them well: right now, $3/bag is too much … if you can find it in the dark corner where they're displayed
-sell cheese European style: behind a counter, a la deli. I was once told by one of your cheese counter associate that they sell too much cheese to serve it that way… what the??? Does that imply that the Europeans/French eat less cheese than they do here, to be able to sell it behind a counter, cling wrap-free?
-sell baguettes a la francaise also: Baguettes sit naked, in baskets, there. You grab them with a small square paper wrapper (if one wants to use it)
-educate your associates: another cheese counter associate made fun of my jars once, telling me that "there was no point in eliminating the use of the cling wrapper from my cheese because I still came to the store in a plastic car". I bought my cheese from Safeway the following week.
-give credit for home jars and bags (incentive) not just grocery bags: some of us have graduated from the grocery bag level.
-charge for any grocery paper bag that you give out.
-replace your plastic bulk bags with paper ones would be a good step too.
Bea
And you know what their reply to my letter was?
Nothing.
Sad.
I even bought a pair of clogs to fit in when we relocated here 3 years ago… I wore them once on Coastal Cleanup day. Climbing and picking up trash in the rocks was not easy with those things on. I even envied my better equipped friend’s Wellies! I donated the clogs back to Salvation Army that week. I guess I should have realized that day, that I had joined a careless community: picking up plastic bags, empty bottles, fishing line, styrofoam bits, shoes (?...), cigarette buds… The kids looked like they hit the jackpot when they found a piece of Lego they could reuse though. They were in a positively better state of mind than I was:
How can an educated community be so clueless about their environmental impact?
And then I sat foot in Whole Foods. The local store reputed for caring about the environment. But do they? Do they do everything they can to help their community reduce waste? Do they know our county’s sad record? Do they understand that they sell some of the trash responsible for our county’s sad record?
This is my letter to them a couple of weeks ago…
Hello:
I live in Mill Valley and blog about zero waste (zerowastehome.blogspot.com). I plan on writing an article about "What my local Whole Foods could do", and I thought it would only be fair to give you heads up on the list that I will post. Your comments are welcome. You can also pass this on to whoever at Whole Foods is concerned about helping Marin residents get to the Zero Waste Goal by 2025.
-make bulk cheaper than packaged: potatoes, cauliflower, baking soda, croissants, etc… are cheaper in a bag/box at your stores.
-sell more bulk: staple items such as olive/cooking oils, vinegar, pastas, laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent should be available
-sell affordable cloth bags for bulk, and display them well: right now, $3/bag is too much … if you can find it in the dark corner where they're displayed
-sell cheese European style: behind a counter, a la deli. I was once told by one of your cheese counter associate that they sell too much cheese to serve it that way… what the??? Does that imply that the Europeans/French eat less cheese than they do here, to be able to sell it behind a counter, cling wrap-free?
-sell baguettes a la francaise also: Baguettes sit naked, in baskets, there. You grab them with a small square paper wrapper (if one wants to use it)
-educate your associates: another cheese counter associate made fun of my jars once, telling me that "there was no point in eliminating the use of the cling wrapper from my cheese because I still came to the store in a plastic car". I bought my cheese from Safeway the following week.
-give credit for home jars and bags (incentive) not just grocery bags: some of us have graduated from the grocery bag level.
-charge for any grocery paper bag that you give out.
-replace your plastic bulk bags with paper ones would be a good step too.
Bea
And you know what their reply to my letter was?
Nothing.
Sad.
A couple of weeks is a short time to expect any kind of reply from a corporate entity. But still...you're right that they at least should have sent you a reply acknowledging your ideas/suggestions or a "we're working on a reply to your email" type response.
ReplyDeleteIn the end, Whole Foods is a business catering to an affluent crowd. They have little incentive to make the changes you suggest without a lot of pressure or a financial reward.
Eco-luxury is inherently hypocritical. Did you see the article about the U2 guy in Malibu who wants to build a compound of 5 homes that will be "benchmarks of sustainability"...at 7,000 to 12,000 square feet EACH?! Unless he's building dormitories for dozens of people...why?
Hi LeeAnn: Let me clarify, that the email to Whole Foods was sent to the local store, not the headquarters. I have sent other emails to them in the past and always gotten an answer within a week.
ReplyDeleteI did not read the article about the U2 guy and glad I did not, just reading your summary of it, makes me sick to my stomach.
OK, thanks for the clarification. Hmm, well, maybe there's hope that they are taking longer to respond because they sent your letter higher up! (Or maybe they're just not good at taking constructive criticism.) Interesting.
ReplyDeleteHi, Bea. Truly disappointing about Whole Foods. Hopefully there is just a delay. You should really post your article from the New York Times. It's great!!
ReplyDeleteI think it is really easy to write-off Whole Foods as a great environmental option when in fact they are just as environmentally degrading as your typical mega-supermarket. Did you read the article in the Atlantic this month comparing Whole Foods and Walmarts efforts to sell local foods? MIND-BLOWING! When Walmart is starting to beat you at your own game, you need to go back to the drawing board!
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you, Whitney. I did not read the article you mention (and will look for it) but I did read http://www.marcgunther.com/2010/02/11/paul-hawkens-winning-investment-strategy/
ReplyDeletewhich also mentions that Whole Foods is not all that we hope.
In our small town and in an effort to shop locally, Whole foods is sadly the only bulk vendor... makes me want to start a bulk co-op.
Check out today's NYT article "Leaving Trash Behind" by Christine Negroni. Bea - I don't know if you need another job, but it looks like there is room to make a huge impact on the planet by getting involved with this issue. Here is a bit of the article about airports: "An estimated 7.5 million pounds of trash is generated every day. While the Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy group, says that 75 percent of that trash is recyclable, it has found that only 20 percent reaches a recycling center. . . "We had so many employees that wanted to recycle,” Ms. Raney said. “We heard it from customers and from our employees, and that’s why we are determined to set it up.”
ReplyDeleteOakland International Airport in California began separating paper, cardboard and bottles from airport trash in 2003. Since adding food scraps to the list in 2004, it handles 455 tons a year, diverting 37 percent of its waste from landfills, said Rosemary Barnes, the airport spokeswoman. The airport has also cut in half the number of trash pickups each month, helped in small part by the Silver Dragon Cafe, a new restaurant tenant that uses compostable food containers." Hurrah for Oakland and the difference that just a few people can make.
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Just a thought
Hi Bea,
ReplyDeleteSorry to contact you this way but you sent me a message and did not leave contact information. This is Toni from Abeego Designs at www.abeego.ca. Please send me your email so I can respond to your question regarding Abeego. Sorry again about having to contact you like this.
Great blog by the way!
Toni
After reading your blog. I was searching for more ways for getting our food from grocery and back I came across this great store in London called unpackaged.
ReplyDeletehttp://beunpackaged.com/.
Thanks for your ideas.
Lesley
Thanks for sharing Unpackaged with my readers, Lesley, I have been dreaming about that store for a year... Such a great concept.
ReplyDeleteI see the point of the no packaging idea, still I don't like the idea of things being out in the open where people can touch and sneeze on stuff!! Do you know how many people don't wash their hands after going to the bathroom?
ReplyDeleteYour letter is great!
ReplyDeleteApropos to Anonymous' comment, Dr. Oz did a show where he put cameras in grocery stores in unpackaged food areas (breads, fruits, veg). It was incredible to see how, over the course of only one hour, how many people handled the food and put it back (after licking their fingers to open their plastic bags), sneezed & coughed over it, squeezed the bread and put it back. He recommended soaking all fruits/veg in vinegar & water solution and then drying completely, but that doesn't solve the open bin issue where anyone can put something in there and the open bread container issue. . .
ReplyDeleteAnonymous: I personally believe that our society has become germaphobe
ReplyDeletehttp://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/30/AR2009043004009.html.
And it should not stop our grocery stores from offering us waste-free shopping alternatives. Options are endless. The baguettes could be sold behind a counter, just the way it is done in a traditional bakery.
i work at a whole foods in a different part of the country then where you live and i thought i'd pipe in.
ReplyDeletesounds more like you/they might be having a problem with the people who work there, which maybe why it's taking so long to get a response. finding inexpensive cloth bags is a task for the housewares department, bulk foods is another person, the attitude with the cheese department, that's a lot to cover and i'm glad you sent it directly to the store- but i do believe they should have let you know they received it. the next person you can contact is some one at a regional level.
i would if they laughed at my jars! i work in the cheese department and i see no problem being about to cut off a fresh piece of cheese and handing it off to you on a plate (or whatever) you bring in. just ask! it's what you believe in, they can't say no.
for finding the person who can help your town go waste free ask to speak to the in-store marketing person, have you filled out a form asking for help? if they have them it would be a the customer service desk.
our store has gone plastic bag free- all of what you'd like to see is doable and probably has been done in a "whole foods". sometimes it does take longer to get new products in (like bulk and re-usable bags) because of whole foods market's standards- no artificial, no preservatives, local products, and a lot of background facts get checked in this process-- but it's worth it in the end.
hope that helps!
Thank you so much for your input, Kelly!
ReplyDeleteWould love to know: where is your store?
I now realize that it might actually take 6 months for them to reply... I just received a response to a one-line question that I sent 4 months ago about butter wrappers...
RE: GERMS.....
ReplyDeletehttp://green.yahoo.com/blog/the_conscious_consumer/124/how-clean-are-bagged-salads.html
So much for the cleanliness of packaged foods, right?
Hi, Bea,
ReplyDeleteGreat blog! I just found it. Was wondering if you have ever tried shopping at the Delano's IGA in Tam Junction. I live in that area and love that they clearly mark which of their produce is local, they have made AMAZING efforts to choose shopping bags that are environmentally friendly, the reusable bags they sell are right near the registers and are reasonably priced, and they give credit for bags brought in. The store is too small to have a lot of volume for things like staffing a cheese counter, but they do many of the other things in your letter to Whole Foods, and the management is pretty responsive to customer feedback. I have only been to Whole Foods once since moving to Marin because I think Delano's IGA does so many things so much better.
Hi Cindy: Thanks for your visiting my blog.
ReplyDeleteHere is my take on Delano's market, from a recent visit:
-the baguettes are sold like everywhere else: in a wrapper
-the cheese and deli selection is exactely the same as Safeway: the usual cheddar and hams shink wrapped in plastic.
-out of 7 fish sold behind the counter, only one came from the US (the others came from Canada, Singapore, and China).
-The meat behind the counter is displayed on a styrefoam tray, and covered with shrink wrap (?)... even Safeway does better at their counter. The options were also sparse when I went (only 2): pork chop or beef steak. No chicken.
-There is a larger selection of meat in refrigerators, but on styrefoam trays and shink wrapped also.
-they have a small bulk section, mainly of snacks (I can't live on just those) and the little cereal that they have is $2/lb more than WF. No staples such as flour, salt, or sugar. Their bulk bags are plastic.
- They do not carry any bulk in the personal care aisle
-They offer plastic as a grocery bag option: Out of 4 people that came out of the store during my visit, 3 chose plastic (1+1+2=4 bags total), only one chose paper. When asked: "paper or plastic?", one of them did choose paper at first, but then turned it down because it did not have handles. The cashier aggreed that her paper bags sucked... You'd think that by now they would have adopted a paper bag with handles if that's what will get people to take paper (especially in a store located on the way to the beach).
-One last thing: what's with the highly visible styrefoam coolers at the front of the store? for tourists to take to our beaches and feed the fish perhaps? I'll pick them up on Coastal Clean Up Day.
While Whole Foods is far from being perfect I still believe that it is the best Zero Waste option in Mill Valley for their better bulk selection and I will continue to shop there. Delano's is definitely not an option at this time.
I thought I was doing better than I was (I don't buy meat or fish there, prefer MV Market; we don't eat it every day)... but I haven't seen the styrofoam coolers and they have changed their bags recently to a recycled product that is not paper or plastic. I appreciate the effort, anyway. Well,I still love your blog and am happy to be learning so much. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteFrom a business standpoint, until enough customers demand that bread and cheese is sold from deli counters, it is not something they will implement: why spend money to employ someone to staff that position.
ReplyDeleteWhile ideally we would love for businesses to take the initiative, the sad fact is that many have positioned themselves as environmentally-friendly as a marketing positioning tool, rather than because of any high ideals (I'm not saying that they don't believe in doing better things for the environment at all, I'm saying that the bottom line is the stronger incentive).
Educating the consumers to demand these changes would probably bring about quicker results than asking the stores to implement.
I can't comment on whole foods in ur area but I know that the ones in mine (DC) had a commitment to zero waste. They were shooting for 10% reductions each year. They hit the high 80s and stopped to move onto their next big project (improving the health of their workers).
ReplyDeleteI would recommend finding out who the Green Mission Manager is for your local whole foods region. Just ask store management and they will know what this means.
I bet they would surprise you with their work.
The one thing I found out for myself is that our local whole foods biggest waste machine is the customers shopping their. They are constantly throwing things out.
With that being said I love ur letter. It so annoys me that cheese, meat, and bread have to come in a package that gets instantly tossed!
great input, Steve, Thanks!
ReplyDeletei want to tell you all, thanks for sharing this terrific topic with us, i loke hearing people talking that way!
ReplyDeleteWe saw your news article in the Macon Telegraph and are interested in doing more in our area. However, we don't have anything like a Whole Foods Store. I don't even know of any stores that offer reusable shopping bags and really haven't seen paper bags in a long time. Between the number of diapers that we throw out each week and all of the water bottles that we throw out, I definitely think we could do better. We do recycle cans, but there are no locations close to us that will recycle bottles. I also eat at Chick-Fil-A for breakfast a lot and am concerned that they use the styrofoam cups. I like them because they don't leak out in my car, but would there be better alternatives? Can you recommend any alternatives for recycling bottles or any environmentally friendly disposable diapers that we might use? We want to do better, but this is Georgia and there aren't a lot of eco-friendly options for us. We just threw out a whole closet full of Target, Kroger, and Wal-mart bags last week, because they don't make very good trash bags and we didn't know what else to do with them. Any suggestions would be helpful. Would there be any programs that we could start in our area?
ReplyDeleten-n
ReplyDeleteyour initiative is good really! The corporations should preserve the environment! But the example begins in our home and our conscience! Like you made!
ReplyDeleteHi, Bea,
ReplyDeleteI'm really curious to hear if you ever received a reply to your letter to Whole Foods. Since reading your article last year, I have noticed that several of the items you mentioned are now available at my local WF. For instance, bulk laundry detergent, olive oil, and pet food were introduced. Also, a selection of cheeses, as well as baguettes and other breads, are all available unwrapped and sold behind the counter. I even began receiving credit for both my reusable bulk bags and shopping bags. The customer service people also mentioned that the company was testing out biodegradable alternatives to plastic bulk bags and styrofoam trays. Could it be that someone at Whole Foods has been reading your blog posts as diligently as the rest of your fans (me included)?
Thanks for your question Sandra
ReplyDeleteI never received a letter back from them, but I would love to think that this blog had something to do with the changes (bread counter for ex) that I also noticed at my local WF;).
Our store has adopted the bag that you mention... It's too bad that I have not seen fabric bags at all displayed.
Well, I'm convinced that Whole Foods has been influenced by your ideas, because today when I was at the store, the clerk behind the bread counter offered me a "free" cloth bread bag (with WF printed on it, of course) if I purchased more than one loaf of bread. That can't be just a coincidence, now can it? I have to admit I did take the "freebie", just this once. The best part is that the paper tag on the side of the bag says that they will offer 10 cents for every time you reuse the bag at their stores. I hope this means more people will be encouraged to bring their own bags. Thanks your quick response, Bea, and many wishes for your continued success with this blog!
ReplyDeleteBea,
ReplyDeleteI live outside Denver, Colorado, and often shop at Whole Foods. I just thought I'd let you know that I've never had any problem at all using my own containers to buy olive oil, honey, sliced deli meat, cheese, bread, cleaning products, etc. Nobody ever raises an eyebrow at me about it. Even the local Safeway has a decent bulk foods section! Strange to think flyover country appears to be a step ahead of the Bay Area on this issue.
Sincerely...A Former Californian
Just this week, the Whole Foods in my area (East Coast) installed a prominent display of fabric bags in the bulk bins aisle. I looked at the stack of bags and immediately thought of your blog;)
ReplyDeleteBea, if you started your own bulk food co-op, I will move to california just to shop there!
ReplyDeleteHi Be a:
ReplyDeleteInspired by you, today I contacted The Body Shop and Lush to see if I could bring in bottles for refilling. Sadly both replied that this was not possible. They indicated that all products must be put in sterile containers and that they had no way of doing this with refills. I know that both of these shops carry products which contain undesirable ingredients, however, I thought I would start by asking if refills were even possible. Unfortunately, there are zero shops in my area where I can have shampoo and conditioner refills.
happy to learn about your blog...i'm a definite 'bulk-a-holic' and was sad to hear your store didn't have those things in bulk you mentioned...our chain of new seasons markets here in oregon carries all of the items you speak of in bulk and welcome bringing your own container. detergents, olive oil, soy sauce, agave, honey, peanut butter, almond butter, pasta, spices, flour & sugar, shampoo, conditioner, lotion and much more. and the whole foods here is almost the same. the bummer to me is that, at least here in oregon, only 'self serve' like the bulk aisle allows you to bring in your own container. the deli, meat, seafood, and take-out do not because as per law, if 'they' serve it, the cleanliness is their responsibility. totally stinks - thinks like deli/meat paper that can never be recycled, argh!!!!
ReplyDeleteI didn't read all the comments but my husband works at WF HQ in Austin Tx and costumers get a 10 cent "own bag" discount. I take my own jars in for bulk and get 10 cents off for each jar and bag + the totes to take it all.
ReplyDeleteWhen I pay 64 cents to fill my oatmeal jar with oats and barley 10 cents off makes pretty cheap organic oatmeal
-Leann
Hi Bea,
ReplyDeleteI read all the comments, and no one pointed out (maybe it's just the obvious) that going to the grocery store is just a struggle in zero waste, as opposed to growing your own food, participating in a community garden, or even going to the farmers' market. All of these places are ultra-local (reducing much more waste than worrying about a cheese paper), probably organic, and support the local economy, instead of an enormous corporation like Whole Foods. Someone said above that WF is ultimately worried about the bottom line. They couldn't be more right. I always think that "corporate greed" are two words that cannot be separated.
I admire your commitment to zero waste! Keep up the great work - you inspire others, like me, to up the ante! I think it is important to think about not only the waste we are physically bringing into our home, but also just the unseen waste of our choices. (For example: buying something from WF in a jar vs. something from a farmer, even if it is in a bag.)
Best,
Malory