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The Eco-Myth of Trader Joe's
Trader Joe?s is widely viewed as a ?green? company, attracting droves of eco-minded consumers who view its cozy, Hawaiian-themed stores as a cheaper alternative to Whole Foods or the neighborhood co-op. But as Sustainable Industries points out, it?s difficult to know how sustainable its operations really are?the company is ?notoriously tight-lipped? about where its store-brand products come from.
A report on organic dairies from the Cornucopia Institute, a sustainable-agriculture watchdog group, warns consumers to be vigilant about the explosive growth in these sorts of ?organic? store brands. Private-label organics like those in Trader Joe?s ?seem to contradict what many thought the organic movement was all about: consumers understanding where their food comes from and how it is produced,? the report states. The Trader Joe?s brand of milk, for example, claims to be organic?but it won?t disclose which dairies it buys from. Ditto for the soybeans it uses in its brands of soy milk, tofu, and other products. And a recent report found that its store brand of veggie burgers are made using hexane-extracted soy protein.
?It?s a delicate balance for Trader Joes?s,? notes Sustainable Industries, ?because while its customers want low prices for ?natural? grub, typically part of the value customers get out of Trader Joe?s is not just that its prices are low, but that they?re low for products that are perceived to be of high value.?
On a few occasions, customers have demanded certain standards: Widespread requests for cage-free eggs and GMO-free foods have been met throughout the company?s stores?according to Trader Joe?s, at least. ?Neither claim is backed by a third-party auditing mechanism,? according to Sustainable Industries.
The company did recently agree to revamp its seafood policies, after a lengthy campaign by Greenpeace to get red-list fish out of its stores (?Traitor Joe?s?). Trader Joe?s has already removed the highly endangered orange roughy and red snapper from its shelves, and promises to ?phase out? other frowned-upon fish by the end of 2012.
That?s a solid sustainable step?but if Trader Joe?s is going to live up to its reputation, it?s got a lot of fancy frozen meals and bags of trail mix to account for. For now, ?customers are accepting that ignorance is bliss,? writes Sustainable Industries. ?After all, it?s what keeps the prices low and the Two-Buck Chuck flowing.?
Re: The Eco-Myth of Trader Joe's
Fixed it. http://motherearthnewsmail.com/rd/9z1zchlh26ev49orerckrc9v25trf31cea4p9cru0u8
I love Trader Joe's, but everything in there is so over packaged, that I can't really view them as being green anyway
I never buy produce there because it's all packaged in bags and plastic wrap.
I still buy their recycled TP and a few other things, though. I hope they don't turn out to be entirely evil!
Some of this could very well be true. But I did recently work for a medium-sized very high-quality organic farm/cannery that sold canned vegetables to TJ's in large quantities. It was the same product that was sold under the company's private label, just relabeled for TJ's and sold for 1/3 of the price. So, I have a feeling most of their sources are pretty legit, if that example is any indiction of their normal buying practices.
As far as cage-free eggs, and "natural" foods etc. there is no third-party regulation out there anyway. Many of these advertising tactics have to be taken at face-value in any store, not just at TJ's. I guess if you feel unsure, you should always buy from a local farm. Then you can have no doubts about where your food came from.
BFP #2 EDD 5/19/13 Let's do this!
i had been alternating between Whole foods and a local organic Co-op and I found that our local store carried so much more local foods although you don't know what kinds of meat it will have on a day to day basis. So there's always a trade off. I drive less and spend less at our local store instead of Whole Foods, so our local store usually wins in my book.
I almost never go to Trader Joes because I'm not really into prepared stuff, but the Two Buck Chuck is nice.
Best sound ever: baby's heartbeat! (Heard @ 10w1d)
Definitely this.
Our big girl, Cora, and our sneaky kitty, Roxy