“Our purpose is to nourish people and the planet.” – Whole Food Market
Everyone wants their bodies to be healthy, and it is not just via exercise, but also through how you nourish your body from the inside out. My own beliefs are that food quality contributes to enhanced health, and Whole Foods appears to satisfy that contribution. When it comes to grocery shopping, Whole Foods is my go-to spot. They provide items that are organic, and fresh.
Talking about environmental sustainability, Whole Foods was the first grocer in the United States to prohibit plastic shopping bags at the checkout in 2008, and plastic straws in 2019. According to their website, “In 2019, we introduced smaller produce pull bags for our fresh fruits, vegetables and herbs. Our packaging manufacturer estimates that this change saves 213,408 pounds (or 106.7 tons) of plastic annually.”
Furthermore, since 2005, Whole Foods Market has contributed more than $50 million to local and worldwide communities through its three foundations: Whole Planet, Whole Cities, and Whole Kids.
One thing I value about Whole Foods is that about 25% of the produce offered in their shops originates from local farms, which helps farmers build their businesses while simultaneously meeting the consumers’ desire for fresh produce.
Based on my understanding about the company, it is already meeting all of my expectations, such as contributing to the environment by avoiding the use of plastic, engaging in philanthropy, and, most importantly, offering high-quality items. However, the costs of the items are upsetting for some consumers, and I partially agree with them. Their pricing has generally been 10% to 20% higher than other supermarkets. This is the one area in which I would like them to improve.
Overall, Whole Food Market is a sustainable, sells high quality, natural, organic food and has great work ethics .
Hello Rechal,
I too love shopping at Wholefoods. I was very interested to learn that they were the first to ban plastic bags back in 2008. I also did not know that 25% of the produce offered was from local farms. Reading your post made me happy about my decision to shop here. I would also agree that Wholefoods as a company is doing a great job at protecting the environment. However, I do agree that their prices are a bit high and wonder what the reasoning is behind this. I wonder if their price point has anything to do with them being socially responsible to the sources they buy from or if it is purely financial.
Hi Rechal,
I really like how you described the firm’s social responsibilities and how the company is sustainable. As you mentioned, the company sells healthy and organic products mostly imported from farms, without any additives, colorants etc. However, the firm received a warning letter from the FDA because more than 30 food products, at their deli and bakery section, were exposed for sale with misbranded labels which did not have declared at least one ingredient that is a major food allergen. I think that this is a very important issue for people’s health, especially for those who are allergic to specific ingredients. Nevertheless, the organization made some recalls on those products and tried to fix the ethical issue.