Thanks for all of the great feedback on our Zero Waste holiday series of blog posts. If everyone was taking the steps our readers are, we’d make a huge dent in that stat about North Americans producing 25% more waste during this time of year! It’s so wonderful to know, judging by your comments, that we are not the only environmentally conscious souls out here. Read the rest of this entry »

How are you doing with all of our green holiday tips so far? We’ve covered “Zero Waste Holidays” tips on holiday cards, holiday lights, pre-cycling and Christmas trees. North Americans produce 25% more waste during the winter holidays – that’s 25 million extra tons of garbage going to the landfill. The Whole Foods Market Green Mission Team has gathered our favorite tips to feature on this blog throughout the holidays to help us all reduce our load. Our customers are some of the greenest folks around, so please share your tips with us too. Hopefully we’ll help each other discover new and creative ways to live lighter on the planet this holiday season. Read the rest of this entry »

The holidays are a time of joy and celebration, of getting together with family and friends and sharing the gifts of the season. This is also the most wasteful time of the year. In fact, North Americans produce 25% more waste during this time of year than any other, which equates to 25 million extra tons of garbage going to the landfill. The Whole Foods Market Green Mission Team has gathered our favorite tips to feature on this blog throughout the holidays to help us all reduce our load. We know our customers are some of the greenest folks around, so please share your tips with us too. Hopefully we’ll help each other discover new and creative ways to live lighter on the planet this holiday season. Read the rest of this entry »

Before you start “partying,” check out our previous Zero Waste Holidays tips on holiday cards, holiday lights, and Christmas trees. North Americans produce 25% more waste during the winter holidays – that’s 25 million extra tons of garbage going to the landfill. The Whole Foods Market Green Mission Team has gathered our favorite tips to feature on this blog throughout the holidays to help us all reduce our load. Our customers are some of the greenest folks around, so please share your tips with us too. Hopefully we’ll help each other discover new and creative ways to live lighter on the planet this holiday season. Read the rest of this entry »

We’re on a roll now with our “Zero Waste Holidays” blog posts. (Read about greening holiday cards and holiday lights.) North Americans produce 25% more waste during the winter holidays – that’s 25 million extra tons of garbage going to the landfill. The Whole Foods Market Green Mission Team has gathered our favorite tips to feature on this blog throughout the holidays to help us all reduce our load. Our customers are some of the greenest folks around, so please share your tips with us too. Hopefully we’ll help each other discover new and creative ways to live lighter on the planet this holiday season. Read the rest of this entry »

Thanks for joining me for our second “Zero Waste Holidays” blog post. (Check out our inaugural post on holiday cards.) North Americans produce 25% more waste during the winter holidays, which equates to 25 million extra tons of garbage going to the landfill. The Whole Foods Market Green Mission Team has gathered our favorite tips to feature on this blog throughout the holidays to help us all reduce our load. Our customers are some of the greenest folks around, so please share your tips with us too. Hopefully we’ll help each other discover new and creative ways to live lighter on the planet this holiday season. Read the rest of this entry »

The holidays are a time of joy and celebration, of getting together with family and friends and sharing the gifts of the season. This is also the most wasteful time of the year. In fact, North Americans produce 25% more waste during this time of year than any other, which equates to 25 million extra tons of garbage going to the landfill. The Whole Foods Market Green Mission Team has gathered our favorite tips to feature on this blog throughout the holidays to help us all reduce our load. We know our customers are some of the greenest folks around, so please share your tips with us too. Hopefully we’ll help each other discover new and creative ways to live lighter on the planet this holiday season.

Holiday Cards
Did you know that over 2 ½ billion (with a B!) holiday cards are sold annually in the U.S.? That’s enough to fill a 10 story building the size of a football field. And what happens to most of those cards? That’s right, into the landfill. Some ideas on what to do instead:

• Send e-cards instead of paper cards. If you feel this makes you look cheap or lazy, add a line about your efforts to curb waste. Who can argue with that?
• If you do send paper cards, make sure they’re printed on post-consumer recycled paper and choose non-metallic cards so they can be recycled (cards embossed with foil and envelopes with a foil insert are not recyclable).
• Reuse the greeting cards you receive as gift tags. You’re probably not planning to re-read every single card you receive this holiday. Grab some scissors and get crafty.
• Remove the fronts of your cards and send to St. Jude’s Ranch for Children Recycled Card program.

Now, it’s your turn. How do you green your holiday cards? And if you send e-cards, how do you get Aunt Madge’s email address without having to call and talk to her for an hour?

If you think like I do, when you need to replace appliances and other household items you go for the most environmentally-friendly choices out there, like Energy Star® certified models and water-saving appliances such as tankless water heaters and front-loading washing machines. I’m fortunate to live in Austin where the city offers rebates on appliances like these, so not only can you save money in energy and water consumption costs, but you can get a hefty rebate. I got $100 back from the City of Austin when I bought my front-loader washing machine a few years ago, which is no small change!

But alas, my relationship with my beloved 6-year-old front-loader came to an abrupt halt last month when it started making a REALLY LOUD banging noise during the spin cycle. The repair man asked me questions like: “You used ‘HE’ soap, right?” and “How much soap did you use?” I quickly realized that I had not done enough research. I swear I read the manual but, as it turns out, it was going to cost more to repair my washing machine than to buy a new one. Ouch! Read the rest of this entry »

At WFM, we just happen to celebrate Team Member Appreciation Week during the same week as Earth Day, so at the Global office, it always turns into a great party. This year we enjoyed perfect Texas weather on the Plaza, complete with live music from Colin Gilmore, seed planting, face painting, cake and gelato eating….we held a trash art contest, played “Pin the Continent on Mother Earth” (in which Team Members donned a bandana, were twirled around a few times, and tried to pin all the continents to the correct geographical location on the map, ha!) and “Wheel of Waste” (in which Team Members spun the wheel and determined whether the selected item should be recycled, reused, composted, or thrown away). It was super FUN!

But I saved the best for last…for the second year in a row we held a voluntary pledge in honor of Earth Day. Last year, we had over 100 Team Members pledge to take the stairs, conserve energy, carpool, bring their own water bottles, etc.-in general, they pledged to become more conscious of the simple, daily things they could do to help the earth.

This year, we asked Team Members to take it one step further and give up their trash cans! “Think Trash Last” was the theme. We asked them to take the following things into consideration:

• Can I reuse? …use a SIGG bottle, drink from a reusable coffee mug, bring your own silverware and containers – skip the plastic silverware, re-use bulk bin/produce bags and containers!
• Can I recycle? …recycle glass, aluminum, #1,2 (& soon #5) plastics, paper, cardboard, batteries, electronics, etc.
• Can I compost? …compost uneaten food, soiled napkins, soup & salad bar containers…even gum.
• Can I buy better? …make some changes in my purchases that will eliminate the trash that I am producing…less packaging!

And guess what?! 77 brave souls gave up their trash cans. They are now having to pile their trash on their desk, which will force them to want to reduce the amount they generate, which will force them to re-think what they are buying, which will eventually eliminate more and more waste going to the landfill. We are making Earth Day every day, that’s for sure.

…or the Environment

Are you in the same boat as I am? I have a really old television because I just don’t really watch TV, and I don’t have cable, so it looks like I’ll be one of those folks who will benefit from a digital converter box to keep my perfectly good television working. The other choice is to invest in a new digital-ready television. If you aren’t up to speed on this whole thing, the digital switch is coming June 12th so find the details here.

Read the rest of this entry »