Whole Foods Market offers eco-friendly paper bags

Austin Whole Foods Market Monday announced that it is the first national retailer to offer Forest Stewardship Council-certified paper bags at its checkout counters beginning in May.

"Whole Foods Market is thrilled to set the bar even higher in terms of reducing our environmental impact with paper bags that close the loop with 100% post-consumer reclaimed material," said Michael Besancon, Whole Foods Market senior global VP purchasing, distribution, and marketing. "The chain-of-custody that our paper bags have attained means these bags can be tracked throughout the supply chain -- from post-consumer waste through processing and distribution to the shopper toting home groceries, all the while reducing pressure on virgin forests and protecting biodiversity."

The FSC, an international nonprofit that promotes the responsible management of the world's forests, offers the most comprehensive standard for certification of forest products. FSC-certified paper can originate from post-consumer recycled fiber or from forests certified according to the FSC's rigorous forest-management standards. The FSC's independently verified chain-of-custody system requires paper producers to track their certified fiber throughout the production and distribution process.