The Co-op Food Stores of New Hampshire and Vermont

added 10/28/08

Little Green Steps
by Emily Neuman, Sustainability Coordinator

When it comes to living lightly on the earth, it’s often how we shop—not just what we buy—that makes a difference.

As You Shop, Take Little Steps
Change is not easy for anyone. Even simple things—like remembering to bring reusable bags to the store—is challenging at the outset. But ultimately, the way we shop is simply a set of habits that, if we succeed in changing, will become routine.

Buy Products, Not Packaging
A liquid dish soap bottle can far outlast the soap that it originally contained. Why buy a new bottle when all you need is new soap? At the Co-op you can buy dish soap and laundry soap in bulk. We also sell bulk spices, cooking oils, honey, grains, beans, and much more.

The green part of bulk shopping is using your own containers. Rigid, wide-mouth containers with a secure lid are ideal. Start with just one item, like rice or pasta, that you buy weekly. Commit to buying it in bulk using your own container. When you empty the container at home, wash it and put it straight into your reusable shopping bags so that it is with you the next time you shop.

Outside the Bulk department, products vary greatly in how much packaging is used. Consider your regular grocery list, and identify the most packaging-intensive items. Where would you be willing to make a change?

If You Don’t Need a Bag, Don’t Take One
It sounds simple, but many people are in the habit of taking a bag for every item that they buy in the Produce department when, in fact, many items may be purchased loose.

When a bag is needed, you are welcome to use your own. If you use your own bag, please be ready to help your cashier identify the items inside.

Shoppers have asked whether the plastic courtesy bags in our Produce department may be reused. The answer is yes, but we leave it to your discretion. Our heavier, unprinted bags may be easier to wash and reuse than the thin, printed bags.

Consider investing in bags of your own. We recently added Vermont-made cloth bags designed for use in both the Produce and Bulk sections. As with rigid containers, the weight of the bag is deducted at the register.

Think Ahead
When deciding what to buy, consider whether or not you will be able to recycle the packaging when you’re done. If you’d like to be able to recycle packaging in the future, keep the market for recycled packaging strong by buying products made from recycled materials. The handles on Recycline toothbrushes, for example, are made from recycled yogurt cups.

Bring Your Own Shopping Bags
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: We encourage you to bring your own bags for carrying groceries home! We’ll give you five cents for every bag. One family could easily save 400 bags/year by bringing its own instead of taking new bags every week.

If you forget your bags, we have cardboard boxes available at the front of the store. You are also welcome to take boxes home for storage, moving, or shipping.

Little Green Steps

• Add changes week by week, rather than all at once.
• Remember: You don’t have to take a bag!

What Do You Think?

Have some thoughts about this article? We’d love to hear from you! Please email us your suggestion or question.