NYC foodies will soon be in for a real treat as Whole Foods has announced they’ll be operating a rooftop farm right atop their forthcoming Gowanus, Brooklyn store. The 20,000 sq. ft. greenhouse will produce fresh veggies and other greens to be delivered to the market below. Now that’s what we call locally-grown food!

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Post tags: agriculture, environmental education, farm fresh, farmer's market, farming education, gotham greens, gowanus, green jobs, greenpoint brooklyn, Hurricane Sandy, nyc greenhouse, nyc urban farms, Superstorm Sandy, Urban Farming, whole foods, whole foods brooklyn, whole foods greenhouse, Whole Foods Market

Whole Foods customers asked for it, and they got it. Last week at the Natural Products Expo West, Whole Foods Market announced that by 2018, all of their suppliers must either make their products with ingredients from non-GMO verified sources or they must clearly label all products as containing GMO ingredients. Of course, while consumers would rather see the change occur immediately, Whole Foods explained that the 5-year timeframe is to allow their suppliers to adjust to the demands. In a press release, Whole Foods noted: “We are putting a stake in the ground on GMO labeling to support the consumer’s right to know. We are stepping up our support of certified organic agriculture, where GMOs are not allowed, and we are working together with our supplier partners to grow our non-GMO supply chain to ensure we can continue to provide these choices in the future.”

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Post tags: genetically modified objects, genetically modified organisms, GM food, GMO, GMO foods, GMO labels, GMO transparency, Natural Products Expo West, organic foods, whole foods, Whole Foods Market

Read the rest of Boxman Studios Doubles Staff to Create More Pop-Up Shipping Container Buildings

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Post tags: Architecture, Boxman Studios, charlotte, Design, Google, Green Design Events, Nike, pop-up, promotional, recycled material, reuse, shipping container, Sustainable Urbanism, whole foods

There are few things more disappointing than reaching into your refrigerator for a nice fresh piece of produce only to be greeted by a slimy, stinking glob of mush in a bag. While you could have sworn you just went to the store or had that CSA delivered mere days ago, fruits and vegetables have a remarkable way of escaping even our most diligent of cooking schedules. Food waste is not just a personal problem, but one that strains the resources of an already stressed planet. Seeing as 40% of all food produced goes uneaten, a product like FreshPaper that can extend the life of your groceries up to four times longer doesn’t just make economic sense — it’s something that could potentially help conserve energy, help the environment, and avoid that embarrassing smell of rotting broccoli in your house.


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Post tags: CSA, fenugreen, freshpaper, fruits, Hurricane Sandy, India, kavita shukla, Produce, vegetables, whole foods

Whole Foods just made history by becoming the first national retailer to personally ensure that all of the body care products on its store shelves are certified organic. There are currently no federal laws that mandate how the word organic can be used on personal care products, so Whole Foods went the extra mile by working with suppliers to ensure that they meet standards set by third party certifiers such as the USDA’s National Organic Program and the NSF/ANSI 305 Organic Personal Care Standard.

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Post tags: eco friendly skincare, eco-fashion, Eco-Friendly Beauty, eco-friendly cosmetics, Ethical Fashion, green beauty, green fashion, natural beauty, natural cosmetics, natural skincare, organic beauty, organic cosmetics, organic skincare, sustainable beauty, sustainable cosmetics, Sustainable Fashion, sustainable skincare, sustainable style, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Whole Body, whole foods

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Post tags: child slave labor, consumer-owned grocer cooperatives, ethical treatment of children, ethically sourced cocoa, Fair labor standards, fairly traded products, Hershey, Inhabitots, Ivory coast child labor conditions, natural food retailers, whole foods

We love Whole Foods for their wide selection of health conscious packaged goods and organic fruits and vegetables. But one popular spot in this shop that gets a lot of attention is the store’s salad bar and buffet. Not only does it boast a delectable array of food that’ll get even the finickiest eater salivating, but it also provides biodegradable containers for customers to place their food in. But how biodegradable are these containers, really? We know that a lot of greenwashing goes on these days, and eco-claims should be taken with a grain of salt, so what better way to see if Whole Foods’ assertion is on the up and up than with a composting test? Continuing with her feature series Packaging the Future, our guest blogger, green journalist and founder of Eco Chick, Starre Vartan, conducted an experiment of her very own testing the compostability of these containers right at home. So is Whole Foods’ eco-claim fact or fiction? The results just might surprise you…

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Post tags: biodegradable packaging, biodegradable take-out container, compostable deli containers, compostable take out container, deli cartons, eco design, environmentally-friendly packaging, green design, packaging the future, packaging waste, sustainable design, take-out containers, whole foods, whole foods biodegradable container, whole foods compostable container, whole foods deli carton

Read the rest of Compostable Packaging Test: Whole Foods Deli Containers

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Post tags: biodegradable materials, biodegradable packaging, biodegradable take-out container, compostable deli containers, compostable materials, compostable take out container, deli cartons, eco design, environmentally-friendly packaging, green design, packaging waste, packaging-the-future, sustainable design, take-out containers, whole foods, whole foods biodegradable container, whole foods compostable container, whole foods deli carton