Green Gifts: Tote your Whole Paycheck to Whole Foods. [lol]
By Waylon Lewis on Aug 10, 2008 inin blog, conscious consumerism, ecofashion, organics, sustainability |
Well, maybe it ain’t quite laugh-out-loud [lol], but it’s close. Tote this er…tote to Whole Foods, and count the funny expressions and icebreakin’ conversations you inspire. Thing is, I think WFM is actually worth it—or at least organics/fair-trade are, generally. As a former board member of the now-defunct truly-local little Boulder Co-op, it’s only when the good folks at WFM place conventional produce below signs touting the importance of ‘LOCAL’ that I get irked. Overall, as an eco-minded consumer, I give credit where credit is due: WFM showed America (and Wall St.) that doing well could be good business—and it’s made 100s of small local eco companies available to the hungry green masses.
Bottom line: it’s old news by now, but actually using this bag, or one like it, is the best answer to that classic koan: “Paper or plastic?” Get it? Got it.
Still an ecobachelor, don’t know how to cook, therefore aren’t buying much more than Ben & Jerry’s and chips and veggie chili? Get this. Got it?
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I’ve had some interesting experiences with “Whole Paycheck.” I’ve worked as a cashier at Whole Foods, and it used to drive my crazy when customers would complain to me about their bill. (Internally at the store, we preferred to call where we worked “The Food Hole” much more clever we had thought). Five years and several jobs later, I found myself with a small group, hearing John Mackey speak, and at the end he was addressed this question of the Whole Paycheck reputation. His response involved disposable income. He said that Americans today spend close to 10% of their disposable incomes on food, whereas it used to be much higher (close to 25% I believe in the 1930’s and over 50% 100 years ago). And today in looking at countries worldwide, he mentioned Japan, where they spend close to 15% of their disposable incomes on food. His point was that it’s about what you value. I think what they are doing as a whole is largely positive, but that there are still too few people in America that can make a choice here. I’m still thankful for when I can afford to buy an organic, fair trade product.
lindsey | Aug 11, 2008 | Reply