USA: New packaging guidelines at Whole Foods

Whole Foods Market has issued new packaging guidelines for its suppliers of personal care products and nutritional supplements, Organic Monitor reports. The natural food retailer wants to "encourage a switch to glass" and increase the recycled content of its plastic packaging as part of guidelines for more than 2,100 body care and supplement suppliers. It has been working with personal care and supplement companies on these guidelines since 2008, and plans to have all house-brand Whole Body products to use PCR PET by the end of this year.
 

The guidelines "mandate that suppliers reduce the use of plastic in product packaging and encourage the switch to glass where possible". Whole Foods’ guidelines also call on suppliers to limit acceptable packaging materials to those that are easily recycled or reused and feature the highest percentage of PCR content. Whole Body coordinator Jeremiah McElwee states that they are committed to reducing, reusing and recycling waste on all levels of business, and thrilled to be leading the green packaging charge with their store-brand products." Existing suppliers were given a year to comply with the guidelines that were introduced in September 2009. All new suppliers in the UK, USA and Canada will have to comply before their products can be sold.
 

The upcoming Sustainable Cosmetics Summit, organised by Organic Monitor and taking place in Paris from 18 to 20 October, will explore the gamut of sustainable packaging options available to beauty companies. The summit will look at recycling, reducing and reusing packaging materials, as well as at bioplastics, eco-design and the C2C design approach. An interactive workshop will give a practical guide to companies looking to adopt sustainable packaging solutions. Case studies will be given of companies at the forefront of sustainable packaging initiatives, including Aveda and Burt’s Bees.
 

Organic Monitor