Green Tech Girl

I just got a Costco membership after being taken there on two trips by different folks who swear by the low prices there. (You must be careful, however, to not buy bulk items that you don’t really need.) I shop at Trader Joe’s for most of my groceries, but on occasion I have a hankering for things like Gatorade, Skippy, and deluxe macaroni, so I go to a normal grocery store for those items. Costco seemed like a better option.

But what about Whole Foods? Isn’t that supposed to be the feel good, environmental grocery store? Sure, but it’s damn expensive. I simply cannot afford to go there and shop regularly. The location near me, in West Los Angeles, has prices sometimes double or triple that of Trader Joe’s.

On my trip to Costco today, I considered whether Costco might not sometimes be a better environmental option than Whole Foods. Don’t get me wrong - there are huge problems with the big box retail model and the sprawl it creates. Costco has also done stupid things like build on wetlands.

Whole Foods is far from spotless, however, and critics say that it is the grocery equivalent of Starbucks, barreling into town and destroying the local co-op “competition.” It is also very anti-union, apparently.

Given that, I don’t think a perfect green store exists. By their very nature, stores have negative environmental impact. Here are some upsides to Costco, however:

1. When you buy in bulk, you’ll (hopefully) need fewer trips to the grocery store, thus saving gas and impacting the environment less.

2. Bulk items (I presume) are potentially more efficient to package and ship and therefore impact the environment less.

3. Costo saves money by reusing its boxes instead of grocery bags. The two grocery bags I did receive were made from recycled boxes. Better yet - they did not have those ubiquitous paper handles on them, thus saving more trees. (Whole Foods makes recycled paper bags that are larger to save on bags, but they still have handles.)

4. Let’s face it: Many regular people don’t have money to shop at Whole Foods unlike a lot of wealthy Californians. At least Costco provides some organic food for less and recycles its boxes. It’s better than Wal-Mart, at least.

5. Certainly, Costco has to be at least a little bit better than a regular grocery store for those reasons? Hm.

6. Here’s one way that Costco beats out Trader Joe’s environmentally: Costco gives out free samples, but they use paper cups. Trader Joe’s uses plastic cups. For shame, Trader Joe…or shall we call you Trader Waste?

As for the sprawl: At least my Costco happens to be very near me and right next door to a yoga center I go to. I went to Costco right after yoga class today. So if I combine trips, my impact driving there is minimal.

I went today with the intention of buying canned goods and non-perishables to stock my kitchen shelves. Then I plan on getting more perishables at the Trader Joe’s I can walk to. So today at Costco I bought:

16 cans of tuna fish (no, I’m not vegetarian and I understand the tuna overfishing problem)
6 cans of white chicken breast
36 organic Nature’s Path toaster pastries
45 packets of organic oatmeal, Costco’s own Kirkland brand
8 cans of Progresso chicken soup (I have a cold)
12 fresh bagels (Noah’s bagels brand)
2 lbs of pepper jack cheese (to put on bagels with tuna fish)
4-pack of Lean Cuisine frozen panini sandwiches (they just looked good and sometimes you are tired and just want something quick and easy)

Total cost: $67. In a pinch I could live on that for a month. I’ve got my breakfast, lunch, and dinner. No, it’s not super premium organic fresh food, but it’s good stuff to have around. I do live in earthquake country, you know.