I’m thrilled to announce that our new Whole Foods Market responsible packaging guidelines for nutritional supplements and personal care products went into effect on September 1st! Creating these guidelines has been a long time (2+ years) in the works, and we are walking our talk by switching to a 100% post-consumer recycled (PCR) content bottle for several store-brand supplements. Our 365 brand body care items are also in 50% PCR content HDPE (high-density polyethylene) bottles as well.

Look for the leaf symbol on our Whole Foods Market brand supplements, which indicates that the bottles are made from 100% PCR PET (polyethylene terephthalate) plastic. We expect to have all of our house-brand Whole Foods Market supplement products switched to PCR packaging by late 2010.

As a leader in sustainability, we know that post consumer waste recycled materials are the way to go. They require less energy and water to produce, and they generate far fewer greenhouse gases, while diverting reusable materials out of the landfill and reducing reliance on virgin petrochemicals. Read the rest of this entry »

In your opinion, which of these is the most impactful Earth-friendly effort? Take our poll on green efforts and see how your thoughts stack up with others.

From sky-high energy usage to a floating island of trash twice the size of Texas in the Pacific Ocean, it’s clear we need to do a better job taking care of our planet. Earth Day began in 1970 as a huge grassroots protest over what was happening to our environment—from the rivers and lakes to our land and air—and the need for action is just as strong today.

Every one of us can make choices that will help our planet. And at Whole Foods Market, we believe that goes for companies, too. In fact, we have long believed that companies have a responsibility to be conscious about their impact on the environment, and we’re happy to lead the way with big commitments company-wide and small actions by passionate team members in our stores. After all, what we put on our plates goes way beyond food.

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Earth Day is a big deal around here. So much so, in fact, that we celebrate the entire month of April as Earth Month! Every Earth Day, Whole Foods Market makes specific commitments to do more as a company to help our planet. One year we announced a 100% offset of our energy use with wind energy credits; another year we eliminated plastic grocery bags. These are strong commitments that continue long past Earth Day.

And with each year, our team members push harder to come up with more, better and greener ways of doing things. They don’t shy away from the hard stuff, knowing that we, as a company, are committed to doing what’s right for the Earth. So, without further ado, here’s our 2010 Earth Day commitment:

Whole Foods Market commits to reduce our energy consumption by 25% per square foot by 2015.

How are we going to do it? Lots of specifics below, but putting our stores on a healthy consumption plan, replacing older equipment with more efficient alternatives and ensuring all stores have the tools necessary to optimize operation of equipment will make the biggest dent in the energy reduction goal. This, combined with our aggressive green building, innovative refrigeration practices, advanced transportation practices, more on-site renewable energy and continued wind energy credits will all play a part in significant emissions reductions.

Bottom line: Saving energy costs less than buying it, so we are reducing our appetite for energy from both traditional and renewable sources. We are implementing energy and emissions tracking systems to help us track our progress and identify areas for improvement. We are really excited about the changes this commitment will bring about.

Here are some of the details of what we are doing now and how we are going to move it forward. Read the rest of this entry »

Does your local recycling take those #5 plastics? Not many do. What to do with all of those containers from yogurt, cottage cheese, cream cheese, hummus and other plastic food storage with the dreaded #5 on the bottom? Never fear, the Preserve Gimme 5 program is here to help!

Since we announced the Gimme 5 pilot program in Whole Story a little over a year ago, 45,000 pounds of plastic (that’s about 2.9 million yogurt cups) have been recycled into Preserve brand toothbrushes, razors, tableware, cutting boards, strainers and lots of other cool, stylish kitchen ware. This year, the program expects to collect three to four times that volume of #5 plastic thanks to an expanded number of Gimme 5 drop-off locations at Whole Foods Market stores across the nation – now available in over 225 of our U.S. stores. Find the complete list of Gimme 5 locations here.

Preserve, the leading producer of 100% recycled household products, put together a stellar group to make this program come together: natural personal care leader Tom’s of Maine, organic yogurt maker Stonyfield Farm, water filtering company Brita and its FilterForGood campaign and, of course, Whole Foods Market. This partnership reflects the five companies’ shared commitment to protecting the environment. It also empowers consumers with a simple and effective recycling program that cuts down on the use of virgin materials in products.

Tom’s of Maine deodorant packaging, Stonyfield yogurt containers, used Brita water pitcher filters (see Preserve website for info on recycling the Brita filters) and a number of other products made from #5 plastic, including dairy and take-out containers, are transformed into performance-driven, stylish and 100% recycled Preserve household products. These Preserve products are sold in our stores, which is extra cool because you can bring in old stuff to be recycled and pick up new stuff made from the old stuff.

Gimme 5 makes it easier for people to do the right thing. We’re pleased to be a part of this great program. Gimme 5 fits perfectly into our mission of caring about our communities and the environment. We welcome this partnership and thank our shoppers and Team Members for such a successful year of recycling.

If you don’t live near one of the current collection sites or if your Whole Foods Market store doesn’t yet offer Gimme 5 recycling, you can mail your #5 plastics to Preserve. Post a comment below to let us know how the recycling process is working for you!

Ever feel guilty about tossing a wine cork into the trash? You should! Truth be told, I’ve thrown away a few wine corks myself. But not anymore. Cork is a renewable, recyclable material that doesn’t belong in our landfills. What to do? Bring your corks to our stores, drop them in the handy Cork ReHarvest boxes and feel good again!

Starting today, Whole Foods Market partners with Cork ReHarvest to make it easy for wine enthusiasts to properly dispose of cork at all of our 292 stores in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. Since 2008, the nonprofit and Rainforest Alliance-endorsed Cork ReHarvest has led the cork recycling movement in North America, helping to collect and recycle some of the 13 billion natural corks that are produced each year. Cork recycling helps to reduce demand placed on cork plantations while maintaining the delicate ecosystem of the Mediterranean forests and helps thousands of producers maintain a sustainable income to support their families.

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The Green Dilemma: You’ve got company coming and you don’t have enough dishes to serve the crowd (not to mention the no-fun task of washing up afterwards). What’s the green host to do? Wow your guests with dinnerware made from fallen leaves by VerTerra. I saw these first used at a huge meeting at Whole Foods Market headquarters. I simply couldn’t believe these beautiful bowls and plates were made from fallen leaves, a “waste product,” and were fully compostable. I had a hard time putting them in the compost bin! Read the rest of this entry »

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 »

Barbera is founder and president of ImagiPLAY.

When I made the decision to produce children’s toys, I realized that I was manifesting a thought into a thing, creating something where nothing existed before, and I felt a tremendous responsibility to produce in a way that has a positive impact on both the child and her planet. As I thought more about it, I realized that the two questions manufacturers typically ask themselves when producing a toy are: 1) Is there a market for this? and 2) How can I produce this for the lowest cost? It’s hard to create a viable business without considering both of these, but I reasoned, why do we have to stop there? With just a bit more time, energy and thought (okay, quite a bit more) can’t we make a fun and educational toy using materials and methods that are not harmful to the earth, made by craftspeople who are paid and treated fairly? What I discovered was that thoughtful actions add up and positive impacts can be made one responsible decision at a time.

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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 »