Nothing hotter than zero waste, baby.

This is what happens when we respectfully ask a company whose values are in line with ours to improve…They do so.

Background: I was in Whole Foods for a meeting with Kashi. I was bleary-eyed from an acupuncture appointment for my back (typical Boulder excuse) and lined up for coffee. There were no for-here mugs. You know, coffee mugs. Only to-go cups. The place is hugely popular. That’s a lot of to-go cups. I asked if they had a mug I could use (as you can do at Starbucks, even if you don’t see one). They said they didn’t have one. I even tried to buy one in their coffee/tea section, where I was directed, but they were out (I asked a second team member if indeed they were out). So—good god no—I proceeded to have a pro meeting without the fortifying wakefulness of coffee (sorry, Kashi).

I then tweeted Whole Foods (the hugely popular @wholefoods on twitter, named #1 for business on twitter, @elephantjournal has twice been voted #1 for #green on twitter) and said something like, hey, your Whole Foods in Boulder doesn’t offer for-here mugs? Could you change that? They replied immediately, as then did Whole Foods Boulder, and after a week or two of waiting, this:

Sometimes, yelling at folks and protesting just creates further aggression. Sometimes we can just call on folks to live up to their own standards and give them good publicity 🙂 when they do so and the world can change for the eco-er. Meet you over at Whole Foods Market in Boulder (one of the biggest in the country, if not the biggest, so this has big impact) for an organic, fair-trade cup of joe!

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