Guess I won't be shopping at Whole Foods anytime soon:
Whole Foods Market won't offer plastic shopping bags at their stores after Earth Day this year. It is a savvy move for the upscale natural foods retailer, who estimates that by the end of the year the policy will have averted use of 100 million new plastic grocery bags at their 270 stores. It won't save the company any money-since the paper and multi-use bags that will replace plastic bags at their stores cost more to manufacture, stock and handle-but it is a savvy public relations move that will likely help to soothe the guilty environmental consciences of devoted Whole Foods shoppers who, like most Americans, believe paper bags are environmentally superior to plastic bags.
Unfortunately, the reality is that paper isn't better than plastic.
What's sad about this is that Whole Foods, which is run by a Libertarian, is now limiting the choices of their customers in a way that's likely to be harmful to the environment, because it plays to their incorrect preconceptions about which choice is better for the environment. While it's not surprising to see a company go for the easy profit rather than educate their customers, it's disappointing nonetheless.
Reason Foundation Commentary: Paper Grocery Bags Require More Energy Than Plastic Bags
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