Whole Foods Market Offers 10 Tips to Green Your Life

Tuesday, 2/23/2010

Images courtesy of Whole Foods Market and photoXpress.com

Caring about our communities and the environment is a core value at organic and natural foods grocer Whole Foods Market. The eco-conscious food retailer offers families ten tips to make a green change.

1. Recycle Your Fridge: How old is your refrigerator? Replacing a refrigerator made prior to 1993 with an energy-star qualified model can save you about $60 per year while avoiding the excessive greenhouse gas emissions.

2. Replace Your Light Bulbs: Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs last up to 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs, saving $25–$50 per bulb. And don’t forget – even with CFLs – it’s important to turn the lights off if you plan to leave the room longer than 30 seconds.

3. Bring Your Own Bag: Don’t forget to bring a reusable bag to the store when you checkout. Plastic bags are petroleum-based, and they fill landfills, harm nature and litter our communities. Plus, it takes more than 1,000 years for a plastic bag to break down in a landfill.

4. Reduce Packaging, Save Money: Seek out grocery stores like Whole Foods Market that offer bulk bins. One of the easiest ways to save money, yet still enjoy whole foods is to shop this area. You can select just as much or as little as you need, and you’re paying for less packaging and its associated manufacturing and transportation costs.

5. Look for the USDA Organic Logo: Choosing organic, in-season fresh produce is good for the planet.

6. Invest in Reusable Containers and Water Bottles: no more plastic bottles! Put a reusable container in your car for restaurant leftovers and ask your favorite places to eat to stop using Styrofoam!

7. Choose Sustainable Seafood: When purchasing wild seafood, look for the Marine Stewardship Council’s blue and white logo to ensure that fish has been responsibly caught.

8. Grow Your Own: Spring has sprung, and now’s the time to plant your own organic vegetable garden.

9. Unplug It: According to the US Department of Energy, “75% of the energy used to power home electronics is consumed while the products are turned off.” And you may save $10 a month on your electricity bill by unplugging appliances not in use.

10. Know Your Butcher: Factory farming is bad for the environment, human health, the economy and, of course, farm animals. Choose meat and poultry that have been treated humanely and are able to express their normal behavior. At Whole Foods Market, you can rest assured that meat and poultry come from farmers and ranchers that care about the welfare of their animals, while our producers and processors adhere to our high quality standards – the strictest in the industry.

For more information and ideas, please visit the Whole Foods Market Blog.

By: Ashley Hawkins, Green Living Enthusiast and Whole Foods Market Team Member

Posted by » walden
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