Sustainability

A complete revamp has put a new focus on freshness and customer engagement at Strack & Van Til.

Focusing on whole organics, natural foods, and gluten-free products, the 56,458-sq.-ft store is set up to offer the value of a farmers market in the environment of a large space. Customers can even have their fresh purchased seafood grilled for them on-site.

Bellevue, Wash. – Thrift shop customers appreciate the deep savings, but most of them do not shop out of necessity.

According to a new survey of 1,001 U.S. adults from the Savers thrift shop chain, 76% of Americans are choosing thrift with the top two reasons being that it’s cost-effective and feels like a treasure hunt. The new data about Americans’ shopping behaviors also highlights:  

• 77% agree that it’s important that they get a good deal or value on the items they buy.

Outdoor wear retailer Patagonia is trying to revolutionize the way denim is manufactured, sold and worn with a new collection.

Patagonia's new denim collection is made with environmentally friendly dye, Fair Trade Certified sewing practices, and 100% organic cotton grown without pesticides, herbicides, or synthetic fertilizers.

Seattle -- Starbucks Corp. is making good on its pledge to spur job growth among “opportunity youth,” or young people aged 16 to 24 who don’t have jobs and aren’t in school.

Cincinnati -- The Kroger Co.’s first female corporate officer is retiring.

The Kroger Co. announced that group VP for corporate affairs Lynn Marmer plans to retire in early 2016, after 18 years with the company.

"Lynn has been a trusted counselor and advisor to three CEOs during a period of significant change in food retail," said Rodney McMullen, Kroger's chairman and CEO. We wish her and her family all the best in retirement."

Montvale, N.J. -- Benjamin Moore has opened a 90,000-sq.-ft. state-of the-art distribution space in the Landover Logistics Center in Landover, Maryland.

The new LEED-certified (Silver) center will accommodate expansion and enhance service in the fast-growing Mid-Atlantic and Southeast markets, as well as support distribution of an expanded line of Benjamin Moore & Co. latex products.

 The Kroger Co.’s first female corporate officer is retiring.

New York -- Activism, yoga classes and free repairs are all on the menu at Patagonia’s new store in Manhattan’s Soho neighborhood.

The global outdoor lifestyle retailer, one of the industry’s most dedicated environmentalists, is marking 20 years of doing business in the Big Apple.

Ahold USA has become the first major grocery retailer to join an initiative requiring Florida tomato suppliers to increase farmworker pay and protect workers from forced labor and sexual assault.

The Coalition of Immokalee Workers announced Wednesday that Ahold USA is America's first major grocer to join the group's Fair Food Program. Ahold USA is the parent company of Stop & Shop, Giant Foods of Landover, Giant Foods of Carlisle, Martin's and online grocer Peapod.