Comments on: Resolution: Reuse

By: Heather Thomas

Heather Thomas — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 16:33:26 +0000

I don’t have a Whole Foods Market close, but I love the shopping bags that I see on Top Chef. I use the ones from WM/Target for everything. Is there a way to purchase them online? Or can they only be purchased in a store?

Thanks you.

By: Winnie Hsia

Winnie Hsia — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 20:18:50 +0000

@Phoebe The bags are made of 80% post-recycled PET bottles and 20% polypropylene – unfortunately, because of the mixed plastic content, there are no facilities currently available to recycle these bags and they cannot be recycled.

By: Phoebe

Phoebe — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 18:03:04 +0000

Hi. I have a number of these bags that I enjoy using, including a few that will soon need to be retired. What should I do with my old bags -can I return them to any Whole Foods for recycling?

By: Louise

Louise — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 15:53:16 +0000

Let’s think about “reduce, reuse, recycle”. The best “green solution” is to reduce. Do we really need to separately bag all the produce we buy? Perhaps we could simply put the apples, pineapples, potatoes directly in the large shopping bag without using up a separate plastic bag? Of course there are some items which are messy or too unwieldy, but I’m sure if we think about it we can “reduce” our consumption of produce bags.

By: Winnie Hsia

Winnie Hsia — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:27:53 +0000

@Donna We are looking into sourcing biodegradable bags and bags made from higher post consumer recycled content. Biodegradable bags are generally made from GMO corn. It’s unfortunate that these bags are presented as an environmentally sensitive or sustainable alternative to plastic, as they are generally made with non-organic, genetically engineered corn. In addition, many of the bags available at this time are not sturdy or cost effective. We are confident that with increased consumer awareness and demand, we will be able to purchase bags that are more environmentally friendly and that meet our standards for price and quality.

By: Donna

Donna — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 22:11:43 +0000

I love my reusable bags and am in the habit of grabbing them before I enter the store. So my question is… can you come up with reusable produce and bulk bags?! Or offer ones that compost? Same with the plastic containers in the bulk area.
I stand around weighing the evils of one set of packaging ove the other all the time. Please help!

By: Diana Nims

Diana Nims — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 05:35:48 +0000

I love my bags. I have people come up to me at other stores when they see my bags and ask where I got them. I have busted holes in the corners of several of my bags. Can they be recycled?

By: Diana Nims

Diana Nims — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 05:34:39 +0000

I love my bags. However, I have busted holes in the bottom corner of some of them. Can they be recycled?

By: SL

SL — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 18:36:21 +0000

Reusable bags are a no-brainer – they’re cheap, convenient and available. Reusable produce bags are my next step; however, I haven’t been able to find a WF employee who knows how to take off a tare weight that’s not pre-programmed. I buy bulk veggies and grains (spinach, potatoes etc) and use my mesh or canvas produce bag and always end up paying for the veggies plus the weight of my bag b/c nobody knows how to deduct the tare weight that’s printed on the bag. On the WF website, it says you can bring your own container for the salad bar to customer service where they will get the tare weight and it will be deducted at the register. Maybe employees could be taught how to do this? Even sell these types of bags – keep them stocked in the produce section and bulk foods section? Just a suggestion in the form of a slight complaint.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 17:55:00 +0000

There’s a trade-off between a bag made of recycled bottles (which I love), and a bag that can be crushed down really small and fit in my purse ( http://www.breezybags.com is one example). I like having 5 full sized bags in my purse, but they are made out of nylon, a non-renewable, but my bags will last me many, many years. That’s a long time and a whole lot of plastic bags that I WON’T be taking at the checkout.