I work in a part of Whole Foods Market that our customers probably don’t think about very much – one of our regional distribution centers. Here in Maryland, my facility stocks and moves most of the product that you find on the shelves in our Mid-Atlantic Region stores. We’re moving pallets of food around all day and we do that with a lot of forklifts and pallet jacks.

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So, Whole Foods Market is this really “super-green” retailer with a strong Green Mission. Right? Then why are we still providing single use, disposable, non-recyclable, non-compostable, fossil plastic cutlery in our stores? Our customers ask every day why we seem to overlook our values on this. What’s up with that?
As with any decent conundrum, there are a number of ways to look at this issue. The Whole Foods Market Green Mission Specialists would like to share with you why this is one of the most complex and convoluted challenges we face in trying to put our values into action.

Here’s the gist of the problem:

As you may know, reuse is higher on the waste hierarchy than recycling or disposal. And prevention and minimization are higher still. So from a Green Mission standpoint, the best thing we could provide would be either no cutlery (so everything would have to be “finger food”) or reusable cutlery. At our Global Green Mission Congress in May of ’08, attended by about 70 company representatives (including store-level team members as well as Vice Presidents), this goal was adopted: Utilize reusable plates, bowls, coffee cups, drinking cups and serve-ware in cafes and team member break rooms (where Health Department regulations allow).

Wherever we can adopt this goal and use reusable cutlery, we should be doing so. Yes, it adds expense to a certain extent, and, yes, it requires certain operational accommodations to make it work — such as bussing, dishwashers and the like. And, no, reusable cutlery does not cover all the bases, so there is definitely a need for cutlery that customers can take with them when they’ve purchased food to go. That need can best be served by recyclable cutlery first and then by compostable cutlery.

Where possible we should be offering cutlery that can be recycled. Of the plastic resins that are known to be highly recyclable, the best choices for cutlery are either #1 PET or #5 Polypropylene. In a number of our regions, we have implemented the “Gimme 5” recycling infrastructure for recycling #5 plastics. This is a partnership with Stonyfield Farms, Organic Valley and Preserve/Recycline to promote recycling of these plastics (many of which are containers such as yogurt cups and other dairy packaging) and to return them to Preserve to be made into the housewares, picnic goods, and other items such as toothbrushes and shaving razors that this company makes and we sell. More stores are getting involved with this program.

Compostable cutlery is where we get into the “nitty gritty” of some of the most challenging issues we face in trying to put our values into action. Here’s why:

• To be truly “compostable” by our standards, a product or material needs to be certified as such by a recognized 3rd party entity. The best known in the U.S. is the Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI), which certifies items according to American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) D6400 standard, essentially requiring that items need to break down and decompose within a strict time frame, without leaving toxic residues such as heavy metals, and must not inhibit healthy seed growth in the medium into which they evolve.
• Source material for cutlery must be certified non-GMO to meet the very strict guidelines Whole foods Market adopted for the use of materials in our supply chain.
• We strongly promote the idea that source biomaterials (as they are referred to) should not be derived from food-based feedstock, such as corn, potatoes, wheat, soy, etc. — food should be used for food, not plastics or fuel.
• Any cutlery developed would need to perform at least as well as existing cutlery (in other words, not melt or dissolve in hot liquids!)
• It needs to meet our cost needs for a commodity item as vast as this is for us.
  Finally, it needs to be an acceptable material for commercial-scale composting at “end of life” since this stuff doesn’t break down well in home composting environments.

The good news is that many producers and manufacturers of foodservice wares know our requirements and are scrambling to make cutlery that “gets it right.” The bad news is that very few have hit on all cylinders yet, and those that have got most of this right, are not yet cost-competitive enough to fit our supplies budgets. We firmly believe that the answer to this challenge is to hold out for the “real deal” and to aggregate our demand together with other end-users in the natural products industry, as well as other industries seeking this type of goods such as the health care and hospital industry, in order to ultimately drive the cost down through this aggregated demand.

So why don’t we just take items with some of the “right stuff” as a starting point, rather than holding out for the perfect solution? (In other words, why not settle for “less bad” as a step towards “good?”)

The answer to this may not be so apparent, but it lies in the fact that Whole Foods Market is considered to be the voice, the authority, and the standard-setter for so many things that touch our industry. Many look to us to be the barometer for trends, especially when it comes to “green” issues. Because of that, we strongly feel that we need to hold out for the most optimal solution. One that really speaks to all of the issues and values outlined above, even on so seemingly simple a category as cutlery. It is coming; it will come. And we can dramatically influence the course of that development, if we keep the faith and hold fast to our values and standards.

That’s the story with cutlery. Thanks for asking!

Lee believes his two jobs (EcoCzar and Forager) are the coolest in the company, allowing him to combine several of his passions in a way that makes work a dance. (Thanks, Coach!) With Whole Foods Market since 1996, Lee enjoys all of the many natural wonders and flavors of New England with his wife Susan and their two teenage sons.

Have you heard about The Prince’s Rainforests Project? His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales is asking everyone to help send the world’s biggest SOS on behalf of the rainforests before the international climate change meetings are held by the United Nations in Copenhagen this December.

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Being “green” is one of our most important missions at Whole Foods Market! Our Whole Body team, along with some of our biggest vendors, has been hard at work developing sustainable packaging standards requirements for all of the products we sell in Whole Body, including our own 365 Everyday Value™ and Whole Foods™ brands.

Enacting change by setting clear environmental packaging guidelines has the potential to alleviate environmental strain, reduce our carbon foot print and lead the way for other manufacturers to make these changes as well. Helping the planet while we help our customers find the best there is in supplements and body care! Read the rest of this entry »

We are so excited to announce that we have just finalized the largest purchase of renewable energy credits (RECs) ever made by a U.S. retailer. Woo hoo! Whole Foods Market purchased 776 million-kilowatt-hours of RECs from wind farms, which equals 100% of our company’s electricity use in all of our North American locations. And that’s not all! Nearly 90% of this year’s purchase is specifically helping fund E.ON Climate & Renewables’ (EC&R) Texas-based Panther Creek wind farm. Our investment is going to help bring new power to the grid.

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Our Team Members love opening new stores – it gives them a blank canvas to try out all of their cool ideas. At our new SouthGlenn store in Colorado, you can plug in your electric car, park your dog at its own safe place outside, sip some on-tap kombucha, shop from more than 1,200 local products and 1,500 private label products, get your wild-caught salmon filleted and seasoned for free while strolling the largest prepared foods section in Colorado. Pretty cool, huh? But that’s not all.

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Back in April I hosted a live blog chat about greening our lives. Folks across the country shared great tips and ideas about what steps they’re taking to leave smaller, shallower footprints on our earth. Some of the discussion centered around figuring out the best way to explain to others why we should be more careful with our planet and her inhabitants. Most felt it was best to show by example. Then, while we’re walking our talk, if questions come up or it seems appropriate to expound on certain subjects, we all agreed to “go for it!”

So a couple of weeks ago during dinner, I mentioned that I’d be heading to our town’s middle school with Sustainable Scituate (our town is part of Sustainable South Shore in Massachusetts) to help cultivate the many vegetables and herbs growing in the newly dug organic garden. This garden is going to help stock the town’s food pantry and be shared with some elderly neighbors. Read the rest of this entry »

While you are probably aware of the importance of eating organic foods, have you thought much about the importance of organic feminine hygiene products? Our friends at 7th Generation have. Check out what they have to say and spread the word to the women in your life.

Tampons are a big part of the monthly female lexicon. American women spend about $2 billion on them annually and will use about 11,000 during their lifetimes. But they are a product that few people regularly discuss.

That dynamic needs to change: Tampons, which come into contact with some of the most sensitive tissue in a woman’s body, aren’t as straightforward as they seem.

Tampons are typically made from a variety of materials including conventional cotton, rayon or a blend of both fibers. Conventional cotton is one of the “dirtiest” crops in the modern world. According to the USDA, in 2003 U.S. cotton farmers applied an eye-popping 55 million pounds of pesticides to their fields. And global cotton production also uses high levels of pesticides. Read the rest of this entry »

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 »

This may be the best re-use of our Better Bag that I’ve come across. Cut drainage holes in the bottom and grow lettuce. Thanks to customer Kerry Michaels for coming up with this idea and the step by step instructions.   This is such a cool way to re-use one of our lunch-size bags. Honestly, I had no clue that growing lettuce could be so simple. Sounds like a great weekend project!