John,

More than 8 million tons of plastic end up in the ocean each and every year.1

Most plastic doesn't break down, so every piece of stray packaging that ends up in the environment will likely float around -- littering our shores, threatening wildlife -- for centuries.

Companies like Costco can play a big role in stemming the tide of plastic waste, by reducing the amount of plastic on their store shelves.

Join us in sending a message asking Costco to take unnecessary, wasteful plastic packaging off its store shelves.

Plastic pollution is killing animals. To a bird, fish, or turtle, a little chunk of plastic might look like a tasty scrap of food -- but eating it often proves to be a deadly mistake.

Scientists discovered one seabird chick with 778 individual pieces of plastic inside its stomach -- so much that its body made a crinkling noise when touched.2 When animals eat plastic, it can get caught in their digestive tracts and cause them to slowly starve to death.3

But what does Costco have to do with starving whales or dying seabirds?

As a huge retailer, Costco has the power to cut back on wasteful plastic packaging and prevent a huge amount of plastic from ever becoming environmentally destructive garbage in the first place.

We all need to do our part to protect the planet -- including companies like Costco. Urge Costco to cut wasteful packaging today.

When we raise our voices together, we know we can get Costco to listen.

In 2023, our national network delivered more than 80,000 petition signatures urging Costco to cut back on plastic packaging -- and the company took some promising first steps. Costco agreed to release data about the plastic footprint of its in-house Kirkland Signature brand of products, and to develop a five-year plastic action plan.4

But there's still a long way to go. Costco hasn't yet set firm targets for how much plastic it will eliminate, and it hasn't committed to phasing out the most unnecessary and wasteful types of packaging from its products.

Together, we can urge Costco to take the next step.

Add your name today to ask Costco to put wildlife over waste.

Thank you,

Ellen Montgomery

1. Mohammed Hussein and Marium Ali, "World Ocean Day: How much plastic is in our oceans?," Al Jazeera, June 8, 2023.
2. Laura Paddison, "The birds on this tiny, remote island are so full of plastic their bellies crunch," CNN Climate, May 23, 2025.
3. Graham Readfearn, "Deadliest plastics: bags and packaging biggest marine life killers, study finds," The Guardian, December 13, 2020.
4. "Working to stop plastic waste: From store shelves to state capitols," U.S. PIRG, June 26, 2025.