Good morning and Happy Thursday! I hope you guys are doing well so far today! I’m excited to be teaming up with Whole Foods Market on today’s blog post and chat about simple things we can all do to “green our routines” and be a little more environmentally-friendly.
Below you will find six simple ways to green your routine and there’s also a great giveaway at the bottom of this blog post that I think my fellow Whole Foods Market lovers will enjoy!
Six Simple Ways To Green Your Routine at Whole Foods
- Purchase Frozen Fish and Buy Sustainable Catch
As someone who loves almost any kind of seafood and prepares fish for dinner at least once a week, purchasing frozen and sustainably-caught seafood is a big one for me! While fresh seafood must often travel long distances by air, frozen seafood can make its way to retailers via a more energy-efficient mode of transportation. An added bonus is that modern flash-freezing means consumers still get high-quality seafood, often for less money than fresh seafood.
Additionally when purchasing wild-caught seafood, select options that are certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) or rated “Green” or “Yellow” by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program and the Safina Center to ensure that your choice is sustainable.
- Bring Your Own Bags
I have a feeling a lot of you already do this (at least I hope you do!), but bringing your own reusable grocery bags to the store with you is such a simple way be a little more environmentally friendly. Plus, many Whole Foods Market locations offer discounts for customers who bring their own bags into the store! Win, win.
Fun fact: It’s estimated that Whole Foods has kept more than 150 million plastic bags out of landfills since eliminating plastic grocery bags from their stores in 2008.
- Choose Greener Cleaners
I started to pay more attention to the type of cleaners we use at home when I was pregnant and am definitely more cognizant of our cleaning supplies now that we have a baby at home. Whole Foods Market’s Eco-Scale Rating System mandates full ingredient disclosure on all household cleaning products (<— something that is not require by US law) in an effort to help shoppers identify a product’s environmental impact though a color-coded rating.
The orange rating is the minimum rating, noting that products with an orange rating do not have ingredients with significant environmental or safety concerns (such as phosphates or chlorine). Yellow-rated products meet even higher standards and green-labeled products are the top tier!
- Select In-Season Produce
This is another tip that is both great for flavor and for saving energy and resources! By shopping in season, you’re more likely to save money and enjoy deliciously flavorful produce while also purchasing food that has been harvested using less energy and resources during a time when it grows naturally.
- Shop In Bulk
Oooh the bulk foods section! I don’t know what it is about this section of Whole Foods, but I’m always drawn to it first. I love trying new foods and appreciate the way the bulk bins allow me to shop for the exact amount I want to use. They’re a great way to save money (I love buying chia seeds, nuts and nutritional yeast in bulk) and also cut down on materials and waste.
- Vote With Your Dollars
I cannot remember where I first heard this tidbit of advice, but it’s something I think about regularly when I am shopping. Whatever you purchase at the grocery store is essentially a “vote” telling brands that you like what they’re doing and want more of it. I would obviously prefer to see store shelves packed with food that is nutritious and produced with sustainability in mind and feel that by gravitating toward this type of food when I shop, I play a very small part in keeping the wheel running and encouraging the production of more responsibly-produced food.
Whole Foods Market Gift Card Giveaway
And now for that giveaway I promised you at the beginning of this post! One PBF reader will win a $100 gift card to Whole Foods Market. Sweet, right!?
To enter this giveaway, please leave a comment on this blog post telling me one thing you do on a regular basis to “green your routine” or tell me one of your favorite things to buy at Whole Foods.
I will randomly select a winner tomorrow morning.
Good luck!!
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I’ve started trying to switch to more natural beauty products like soap and moisturizer. Also, we recently bought our first house and it has a septic tank. That alone has made us start focusing on more natural products and switching our laundry to Seventh Generation only.
I always bring my own reusable shopping bags
I also love the bulk section – nuts, beans, and rice!
To help stay green I use a waterbottle and coffee mug at work everyday!! I love the salad bar at WF and also their cut lettuce section. I love getting already cut Kale but also being able to decide how much I want, sometimes with the big bags or containers I throw half of it away 🙁
I take reusable bags to the store. We also buy in-season produce, but I never considered it was a greener option! Learn something new every day! 🙂
I always bring reusable bags when I shop. Also, I just recently switched to aluminum free deodorant. Took a bit to find one I liked but am happy to not be putting unneeded chemicals in my body.
I try to keep reusable bags in my car so I always have one when running to the store.
I don’t use disposable bags for my kids lunches only reusable baggies and containers.
I shop without my kids as much as I can. While I like them to see me making healthy choices, as little as they are, it can get frustrating with them vying for attention which means I focus on my choices less. This means I spend more with them, and do t have the the time or energy to compare.
I love Whole Foods! I try to bring my own bags to the store whenever I go! Added plus: they hold so much more than the little ones the store gives you!
I always try to use the reusable shopping bags or at least repurpose the plastic ones!
I always try to bring my own bags when I grocery shop – to the point that I get slightly frustrated when I forget them!
I recently bought some reusable plastic baggies for lunches and snacks!
My favorite things to buy at whole foods are the 365 vanilla protein for protein pancakes and the frozen ahi tuna steaks! I go green by buying in season.
Favorite thing at Whole Foods?! Just one?! Okay then, their “chicken” salad. Being a vegetarian/(vegan in the making) I rely on Whole Foods for all sorts of alternative ingredients and ready made foods!
I’ve been bringing my own grocery bags for years, but several months ago I also started bringing my own produce bags to the grocery store. I absolutely love them! Not only are they greener, but they are also much more easy to use than the bag provided in the grocery store that tend to stick together and be kind of a pain. Reusable produce bags for the win!
Love WF hot bar, and the bulk nuts!! 🙂 We recycle everything under the sun!
I regularly bring my own bags, but will start shopping in the bulk section more.
I always walk to and from my Whole Foods! This keeps me honest by not overbuying and limits me to two bags tops plust whatever I can fit in my drawstring bag. I’m definitely burning extra cals on milk/juice days 🙂
My favorite, easy way to ‘green my routine’ is to carry reusable grocery bags. I even leave them in the trunk of my car so I always have them.
I always use reusable bags, use towels instead of paper towels whenever I can, and use green cleaning products!
I started switching to more natural cleaners, and have even begun to make my own. My house smells so much better and I don’t have to worry about all those chemicals with names I can’t even pronounce.
I always make sure to use a reusable bag when shopping! My favorite whole foods product is the no oil dressing and I love eating at the hot bar!
I love going to whole foods to pick up a quick lunch from the salad bar or some of the hot food items.
We recycle, recycle, and recycle more!
We recycle as much as we can, use reusable bags for shopping, use homemade household cleaners, etc.
I love the bulk foods section! Sometimes I’ll just drop by for a handful of trailmix or a small bag of banana chips – they have the best selection.
My kids and I go for walks a lot and we started bringing a trash bag with us to pick up the trash as we walk. We rarely deviate from our usual path and it really blows my mind that there is new trash to pick up each time we travel the path. It really makes me mad.
My son is in the habit of picking up trash wherever he goes now. I know I can’t change the world, but I can do my part to raise respectful children who care about the environment and other people.
At work, I always bring my food in glass containers. I also do not use the Kerig machine and instead make the old drip style coffee so I’m not adding to the problem with those little cups.
I LOVE Whole Foods… the food, the experience, pretty much everything! I typically bring my own bags to the store and carry a refillable water bottle everywhere I go!
My favorite thing to buy at Whole Foods? It would have to be all the delicious cookies, pastries and desserts 🙂 The Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip and Jumble cookies are amazing.
I love all of these tips! The frozen sustainable seafood is the BEST! I also always bring my own bags (they also charge you for paper bags here in Los Angeles!)
I always bring my own bags to the grocery store!!!
I love the bulk bins at whole foods and they always have an amazing tea selection!
I recycle!
I bring my big thirty one bag with me whenever I go to the grocery store!
I reuse my ziploc baggies. I’ll wash them and dry them and use them again since I’m usually just storing greens and produce in them. I’m still using the same big of ziplocs I bought when I move here a year ago.
I bring my own bags and reuse them every time!
I have switched to natural cleaning products. I will look at the frozen seafood next time. Thanks for the tip! I love the hot bar at Whole Foods!
We always use our own bags and try and get seasonal produce- not only is it usually cheaper, but also tastier!
I always use my reusable bags there, too! My favorites are nuts from the bulk bins 🙂
I always bring my own bag and try my best to shop produce in season (which also helps save money since I’m on a college student budget).
I always bring my own bags. If I don’t have to grab much at the grocery store, sometimes I’ll take my morning walk with my dog to the store to buy things instead of driving. Also at my Sprouts, they have reusable milk containers that you bring back to the store after you are done with them (they clean and wash them). it’s a $1.50 deposit, but you get that back when you return the container. Plus while I think most milks taste the same, my husband thinks theirs is delicious, win win! I also recycle what I can and have tried somewhat to start my own compost pile. While trash and recycling are included in Denver, they do have an extra service every month that collects anything that can be composted.
Instead of drinking the free bottled water at work, I bring my own reusable cup from home to fill up at the water fountain.
Thanks for all the interesting tidbits! My favorite thing to by at Whole Foods is coconut aminos since I haven’t found it anywhere else!!
We always bring our own bags!
I always have reusable bags on hand!
Ever since I was a kid, we always reused our ziplock bags, plastic forks, cups etc,..nothing was ever wasted and if we do throw something away, it’s recycled if possible.
I keep a few reusable bags in my trunk so that no matter what store I happen to run into, I have a bag!
I bring my own bags!
I recycle everything I can at home and always bring reusable shopping bags to every store I go to.