Whole Story

China, are you all nuts. Our Tulsa store is terrible. Maybe the management just doesn't get the whole concept of organic and natural food, I don't know. You say you buy from local farms, how is CHINA local? Wild oats was so much better, I miss it a lot more everytime I come into Whole foods. The fruit is inferior to even Food Piramids organic fruit. You all are suppose to be the experts. I think you need to go back and understand supply and demand. You took out a lot of the products we came to love at Wild oats and the fruit is so much worse, you have lost a lot of customers, just people I know. Get it together or this store won't make it. I work too hard for my money to buy something at Whole foods that is inferior to the the store just down the street. The atmospher is much worse than Wild Oats was. It doesn't feel as clean or happy a store. Thanks for taking away our best store in town. We miss Wild Oats alot.

I know all to much about greenwashing and find it everywhere - but it saddens me to find it in your store... I was there just yesterday and had a hard time finding hand soap that did not have SLS and a number of other chemicals... What is Whole Foods doing to keep these items out of health food stores?

There is a T-shirt being sold at whole foods that might qualify as a "green-wash": It promotes bio-fuels. The latest that I've heard on bio-fuels is that they emit more greenhouse gases than petroleum-based fuels. Their use is also wreaking havoc on the food supply. So this shirt company is trying to make money off people's desire to be eco-conscious, without researching whether this is indeed a worthy bio-cause. The ONLY reason for bio-fuels would be to reduce our dependence on the middle east; there are better ways to do that.

Elizabeth, you are absolutely right in that there are tradeoffs in just about every conscious decision businesses and individuals make. We do weigh our decisions carefully and make the best ones that we can. On the re-useable bags, we knew that we wanted an inexpensive option so more of our customers would choose to reuse. And we wanted a bag that was made from recycled plastic bottles – closing the recycling loop in two ways. The only vendor we found is in China. We have the vendor’s operations audited by a third party company who verifies that their environmental and social responsibility practices – including fair labor – meet our high standards. You can read more on our website about the <a href="http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/issues/organic/globalorganics.html " rel="nofollow">specific audits and steps we take</a>. As for the shipping miles, we hear you and we would source this product closer if it was possible. That said, transportation via ship is one of the lowest carbon methods available. We’ll keep looking for ways to do things better. You might want to check out some of the other bags our stores offer. Some of our regions take their large sign banners and recycle them into bags and those are very locally made! Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

I am new to the whole "green" thing. However - I am learning! It is very confusing for someone just starting out, and I am still working on my awareness. I would really love it if Whole Foods would make a sign in their store that indicates the meanings of food origins - for example, this may be obvious to most, but I assumed that all foods in your store were organic. I did not realize the difference b/w conventional and organic, and did not realize that you would carry genetically modified foods in your store. For someone just starting out who might not think to ask...it would be helpful for information for us "newbies". Also, I appreciate your responses to some of the comments above...please consider replying to the ones you haven't as I'm now concerned and interested in your responses to those as well. Thanks!

The united nations has sighted the carbon emmissions produced from the production of animal products for food, as the number 2 or 3 largest contributor to global warming. While not using plastic bags, and recyling are all good steps they pale in comparison to reducing the amount of animal product we consume/sell/produce for food. While I understand why Whole Foods sells organic versions of meat and dairy products, I question how unbalanced you are with regard to featuring and promoting these animal products in your stores verses the small amount of meat and dairy alternatives (with the exception of soy milk). This unbalance is, in itself, greenwashing!

Funny, Whole Check...It is interesting I find the opposite that if I have to stop at a Kroger, Spouts or Tom Thumb my dollar does not go near as far as it does at my local Whole Foods. I swear I go into sticker shock. The only time my food bill is out of line is when I hit the pre packaged foods or the bakery...stuff I should not be noshing on anyway. Ok but produce from China that makes me ill, big no-no. I will be watching for this now...must admit we try to get as much "local" and in season as possible does not allows work but we try.

Regarding the "greenwashing" issue, the Federal Trade Commission has a published list of "Green Guides" that are designed to protect consumers from greenwashing claims. They can be found at this link: http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/grnrule/guides980427.htm These guides were last reviewed in 1998 and are currently under review by the Commission. There have been many new environmental claims that have come along since the guides were last reviewed, such as "carbon neutral", "renewable", and "sustainable", to name just a few, so the current review will attempt to create criteria for measuring and "vetting" such claims. As a Whole Foods Market team member whose job includes trying to verify "green" claims with which we are presented, I am always grateful when our customers share their experience, feedback, and information to help us do the best job we can in this regard!