Friend,

The numbers are in -- and the United States is the world's largest contributor of plastic waste.

Generating nearly 46.5 million tons of plastic each year -- more than all of the waste produced by members of the European Union combined -- our country is creating needless plastic products that are choking our oceans and littering our open spaces at breakneck pace.1

It's clear we need to do better.

To begin to turn the tide on harmful plastic pollution, we need companies like Whole Foods -- which has been a leader on sustainability in the past -- to make bold, time-bound commitments to reducing their plastic footprints. Tell Whole Foods: It's time to get rid of single-use plastic packaging once and for all.

Whole Foods has a reputation for practicing environmental stewardship and selling responsibly sourced products. Unfortunately, the company isn't leading the way when it comes to reducing plastic waste.2

A recent report gave Whole Foods an "F" on reducing plastic waste -- putting it behind even Walmart and Kroger.3

Why? The company has failed to embrace reusable packaging and recycled content, and it hasn't been transparent about the packaging materials it uses. Whole Foods has also failed to take responsibility for the plastic waste its packaging becomes -- adding to the more than 8 million tons of plastics that flow into our oceans every year.4,5

Such a disappointing grade is certainly surprising for Whole Foods. At one point, the grocer was a prominent leader on cutting out unnecessary plastic, from eliminating plastic bags at checkout in 2008 to removing plastic straws from its stores in 2019.6

The good news: Whole Foods can make a huge impact if it acts right now and sets an example that others in the industry can follow.

Take a minute now to tell Whole Foods that it's time to take the lead on reducing plastic waste.

We're still working to pass the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act in Congress and convince other corporations to do better on plastic packaging. Persuading an eco-conscious company like Whole Foods to eliminate single-use plastic packaging from its stores would go a long way toward getting other companies to move beyond plastic as well.

Whole Foods needs to hear from people like you that our oceans and our wildlife can't wait.

With your help, we can ensure that Whole Foods does its part to put planet over plastic.

Tell Whole Foods: It's time to do better on plastic packaging.

Thank you,

Rex Wilmouth
Senior Program Director

1. Oliver Milman, "'Deluge of plastic waste': US is world's biggest plastic polluter," The Guardian, December 1, 2021.
2. "Our Core Values," Whole Foods Market, last accessed May 14, 2021.
3. "Waste and Opportunity 2020: Searching for Corporate Leadership," As You Sow, last accessed December 10, 2021.
4. "Waste and Opportunity 2020: Searching for Corporate Leadership," As You Sow, last accessed December 10, 2021.
5. "A Guide to Plastic in the Ocean," National Ocean Service, last accessed December 6, 2021.
6. Jordan Valinsky, "Whole Foods will ban plastic straws and offer smaller produce bags," CNN Business, May 20, 2019.