Whole Foods Expands Green Packaging, Beginning With Private Label

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September 14, 2010

Whole Foods Market has implemented new responsible packaging guidelines for its 2,100 body care and supplement suppliers, and is leading the charge toward change by switching to post-consumer recycled (PCR) content bottles for several of its store brand supplements and body care products.

“We’re committed to reducing, reusing and recycling waste on all levels of business, and we’re thrilled to be leading the green packaging charge with our store brand products,” said Jeremiah McElwee, global whole body coordinator for Whole Foods. “We knew that PCR-content bottles were the way to go. They require less energy and water to produce and generate far fewer greenhouse gases, while diverting reusable materials out of the landfill and reducing reliance on virgin plastics.”

While the switch to PCR bottles began last September, the company expects to switch all of its private label Whole Body products, which now use amber plastic PET No. 1 bottles, to PCR packaging by late 2010. The new bottles bear a leaf symbol indicating that they are made from 100 percent PCR plastic.

Beginning in the summer of 2008, McElwee and his team worked with 25 of Whole Foods Market’s largest personal care product suppliers to develop the new guidelines, which became effective Sept. 1, 2009. The guidelines mandate that suppliers reduce the use of plastic in product packaging, encourage the switch to glass when possible, limit acceptable packaging materials to those that are easily reused or recycled, and/or feature the highest percentage of PCR content. Suppliers were given one year to transition to more eco-friendly packaging.

All new body care and supplement suppliers must meet the packaging guidelines before their products can be sold in one of the company’s 300-plus locations in the U.S., Canada and the U.K.

We’re thrilled by how responsive our vendors have been in making changes to provide even more green options for our customers,” McElwee said. “More exciting still is that through the development process, Whole Foods Market has created a forum for vendors to share best practices, helping the whole industry move forward with our environment top of mind.”

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