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Whole Foods unveils body care and supplement packaging guidelines

Whole Foods Market 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.

Whole Foods operates some 300 stores, including five in the UK, and has been working with body care and supplement suppliers on the guidelines since 2008. It expects all house-brand Whole Body products will be using post-consumer recyclate (PCR) PET by the end of the 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 said: "We’re committed to reducing, reusing and recycling waste on all levels of business, and we’re thrilled to be leading the green packaging charge with our store-brand products."

Post-consumer content
"We knew that PCR-content bottles were the way to go. They require less energy and water to produce and generate far fewer greenhouse gases, while diverting reusable materials out of landfill and reducing reliance on virgin plastics," he said.

Existing suppliers were given a year to comply with the guidelines that were introduced in September 2009. All new suppliers in the UK, US and Canada will have to comply before their products can be sold.

"Through the development process, Whole Foods Market has created a forum for vendors to share best practices, helping the whole industry move forward with our environment top of mind," said McElwee.