Washington, DC – In advance of a Greenpeace report ranking U.S. supermarkets on plastic reduction efforts, Whole Foods announced several new initiatives today. Whole Foods announced that it will eliminate most plastic straws, making them available upon request for customers with disabilities and offering Forest Stewardship Council-certified paper straws for those who want them. In addition, the retailer will switch to smaller plastic produce bags and replace hard plastic rotisserie chicken containers with bags that use less plastic.
Whole Foods has also previously eliminated plastic grocery bags and polystyrene/Styrofoam meat trays from its stores.
In response to the news, Greenpeace Oceans Campaigner David Pinsky said:
“It’s good to see Whole Foods acknowledging its role in the plastic pollution crisis and making some changes, but retailers must go much further than phasing out plastic straws and cutting down on the amount of plastic used in select packaging. As a forward-thinking company, Whole Foods must release a comprehensive public plan to reduce plastic throughout its stores to match the scale of the problem. Now more than ever, we need retailers like Whole Foods to embrace real innovation — moving toward systems of reuse and thinking beyond throwaway materials. Our oceans, waterways, and communities depend on it.”
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Contact: Perry Wheeler, Greenpeace Senior Communications Specialist, P: 301-675-8766
