Will money grow on trees if you hug them?

PUBLISHED by The Daily Free Press

Save money, save the earth and save your health. According to many businesses lately, all this and more can be achieved just by purchasing a canvas grocery bag, a metal water bottle or organic produce. With more and more eco-friendly items hitting the shelves everywhere, which stores are really environmental and which are just looking for the other type of green?



BRING YOUR OWN BAG

Whole Foods Market sells organic food, reusable grocery totes and even a kitchen line called "Whole Living" comprised of oven mitts, pot scrubbers and plastic ware all made from recycled materials. Chuck Olivieri, Whole Foods marketing team leader, said though it might be "the cool thing to do" for other businesses, selling green products is part of Whole Foods' values.

"We hope our decisions are based more on concern for the environment than they are on economics, but both have to go into making a decision -- like paper versus plastic," Olivieri said.

Paper grocery sacks are more expensive to use than plastic, but Whole Foods hasn't offered the non-biodegradable bags since last winter. Olivieri said although some customers still complain they prefer plastic carriers, the company will stick by its decision.

The grocery store doesn't make a profit off the reusable totes it sells for 99 cents, made from 80 percent recycled plastic. Olivieri said customers who purchase the bags get 5 cents back every time they use them, so the sacks pay for themselves after 20 trips.

"Our bags are kind of a fashion statement, too," he said. "People keep asking when the next edition is coming out."

Trader Joe's has been selling its reusable canvas bags for more than 30 years, and five years ago, the chain began offering incentives to customers through their "Bring Your Own Bag (BYOB)" program. Trader Joe's spokeswoman Alison Mochizuki said a handful of stores started giving out gift certificates and holding drawings to reward patrons for bringing a bag, and the idea spread.

"[Sustainability] is something certainly not new to us," Mochizuki said. "Our customers ask for it; we listen to our customers. That program got implemented nationwide because we got such positive feedback."

For Shaw's Supermarkets, reusable bags are brand new. Dan Grady, an assistant store director at the Prudential store, said Shaw's has been selling its bags for less than a year, but more and more customers are showing interest.

"It saves money on plastic bag costs, but it's really focused on getting customers in here that are concerned about the environment," Grady said.

Adrienne Camp, Shaw's customer, said she always uses the Shaw's bags not only for environmental reasons but also for greater convenience in transporting groceries. The only drawback is paying a dollar for each tote, which can add up if bags are lost or forgotten.

"I swear by them now," Camp said. "I'll never go back to plastic bags."

Another Shaw's customer, Ellen Zumbado, said she thought about buying reusable bags, while watching the cashier place her groceries into plastic bags.

"I need the bags for my dog's poop," she said. "I'm aware [plastic is] problematic for the environment, but I don't think about it too much."

SPENDING GREEN TO BE GREEN

High costs continue to be a reason some people provide for passing on organic or recycled products, but Olivieri of Whole Foods said that despite common belief, eco-friendly products do not always cost more. If an organic product at Whole Foods is much more expensive than its non-organic counterpart, the store will offer both.

"We have a lot of senior citizens and students in the area with limited incomes, and there are not a whole lot of other options in the area," Olivieri said. "But especially in a small store like ours, if we only have space for one oven mitt, we have our oven mitt, and it happens to be more eco-friendly."

He said although Whole Foods does not have the advantages of a larger store, Olivieri hopes that bigger chains like Target will follow the trend and eventually offer similar products. Olivieri said college students are the demographic "spearheading" the green movement, often teaching their parents about sustainability.

Jen Davidson, a Whole Foods customer, said she shops at the store not for its environmental aspect but for the location, quality and variety. She thinks only certain parts of the country are considering green options, such as the upper-middle class.

"Areas where they do have access are turning to it publicly," Davidson said. "Depending on how you live, there's more awareness."

Leah Bergmann, a Trader Joe's customer, said she searches for local produce and other groceries with efficient packaging as best she can, with a canvas bag in tow.

"When I first started shopping organic, it was hard to find at first and expensive, but now it's much more available and accessible," Bergmann said. "It's hard, especially in the city. I think it's what people want."

A DIFFERENT KIND OF WATER BOTTLE

Heavy-duty bags are not the only recent craze that cuts down on plastic. Aluminum and stainless steel water bottles are becoming one of the hippest ways to recycle, reduce and reuse while saving money without needing 24-packs of Poland Springs.

Because gas prices and shipping costs are going up, consumers are becoming more careful about wasting almost $2 on plastic water bottles, said Dan Dettwiler, director of marketing and development for Enviro Products. Dettwiler said Enviro Products makes stainless steel bottles and water filters so customers can make their own portable drinks for less.

"We actually started the business with the filters and went into the bottles as accessories," he said. "The filters cost a lot more but [sales are] even; probably nine times out of 10, people buy a filter and grab a bottle, too."

Dettwiler said the stainless steel material is the safest and most durable, and the Enviro bottles are made with the same quality steel required for commercial kitchen equipment. Lower quality metals might "leech" bacteria or chemicals into the water, he said.

"We think people should have high quality items. There's a lot of people out there, so we try to come out with new designs and styles," he said. "We have a small 12 ounce one that's great for little kids; then they grow up and buy a one-liter."

Dettwiler said Enviro Products is 15 years old and has "been in the green business since before it was a trend," but SIGG, Swiss maker of aluminum water bottles, boasts a century of production. However, the water bottles only became available in the United States in 2005, though they were "hot" in Europe before that, SIGG spokesperson Rita Buscher said in an email.

"SIGG's 'eco-chic' designs, long lives and proven quality have helped to grow the recognition of the SIGG brand within the country and around the world," Buscher said. "More than just in a business sense, eco-friendly and organic products are a good environmental move. Everything in the world is interconnected."

Buscher said a possible disadvantage to buying a SIGG bottle or other reusable products is a higher initial price, but over time the purchaser will most likely begin to save money. Still, SIGG releases new designs annually, and many SIGG customers own more than one bottle.

"We see it not so much as a trend as more of a lifestyle change," she said. "Just as many people are making the switch to reusable shopping bags, many have made the switch to reusable drinking containers."

Though SIGG boasts its original use as standard issue for the Swiss army, City Sports employee Kelly Rupert said the bottles are not indestructible. The sports store's customers have returned dented SIGG bottles before, and Rupert's own jug acquired damage, as well.

Most people who buy SIGG bottles at City Sports are replacing their Nalgene bottles after a highly publicized study connected Bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical found in the plastic, with cancer, Rupert said. The study significantly affected Nalgene sales, and until the company developed new BPA-free products, SIGG bottles enjoyed less competition.

"The SIGGs sold like crazy," Rupert said. "It was just the new cool thing."

College of Arts and Sciences sophomore Mariana De Coste Calla said she still uses a Nalgene bottle because she doubts the BPA study's validity. She thinks environmental concerns are more pressing.

"I have a pet peeve about people who throw out plastic water bottles," she said. "You have to take everything with a grain of salt. Until I have some solid proof [of the BPA threat], I'm going to stick with my FYSOP Nalgene."

Whole Foods marketer Olivieri said the SIGG bottles sell very well, but some of the store's clientele question the safety of SIGG's aluminum material and whether its lining is as stable as stainless steel. Moreover, Whole Foods has its own line of stainless steel water bottles.

"The SIGG bottles have a following because they have a great website, and they've been around longer, but for those who question their quality, we offer stainless steel without plastic lining," Olivieri said.

Most companies interviewed for this article claimed they were ahead of the curve when it came to upholding an environmental mindset as part, if not all, of their business mission. Despite which establishment has been evergreen, they all agree that the trend means more than collecting revenue off the latest fad.

"The biggest advantage to buying a reusable product is the lessened impact on the environment," Buscher said when commenting on SIGG. "We all live on this Earth and are responsible for caring for it."