Whole Foods Says Shoppers Embrace No-Plastic-Bag Initiative

A year ago, Whole Foods Market (Austin, Texas) announced it was eliminating disposable plastic grocery bags at all of its store checkouts. Today, the company says the amount of reusable bag use has tripled at its stores, helping keep an estimated 150 million plastic bags out of landfills.

“At first we wondered if shoppers would just switch to paper but to our great surprise, people have been truly excited about using reusable bags,” said A.C. Gallo, co-president and chief operating officer for Whole Foods Market. “Our shoppers have been inspired to make a positive environmental change and have really incorporated the reusable bag mindset into their daily lives. Eliminating plastic bags was definitely the right move at the right time.”

The grocery food retailer sells a variety of reusable bags, ranging from the stylish “A Better Bag,” which costs less than $1, to the $29.99 cotton and burlap FEED 100 bag, with proceeds going to provide 100 nutritious lunches to hungry Rwandan school children through the United Nations World Food Program's School Feeding Program. The company also offers a refund of either five or 10 cents at the checkouts, depending on the store, to shoppers who bring their own bags.

Whole Foods is also searching for alternatives to plastic bags in its bulk, produce, bakery and seafood departments and is working with vendors to eliminate Styrofoam packaging in shipments.