Retailers launch ‘Earth Month’ activities

Several grocery retailers have expanded their Earth Day activities to stretch throughout the entire month of April.

Kroger Co., for example, has launched a month-long fundraising campaign for the World Wildlife Fund, through which customers can round up their purchases to the nearest dollar amount at checkout to donate to the WWF. Kroger said it would match customer donations up to $50,000 through its Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation. The funds will support WWF conservation and sustainability efforts both in local communities and around the world, the company said.

The company’s Zero Hunger | Zero Waste Foundation is also making a $50,000 contribution to the Arbor Day Foundation to support efforts to increase tree canopies in communities impacted by extreme weather, including Shreveport, La., and Bowling Green, Ky. The donation will support the distribution of hundreds of trees in each community, which will help curb impacts from natural disasters such as hurricanes and flooding, Kroger said.

“At Kroger, we support healthy, thriving communities during Earth Month and every day through our Zero Hunger | Zero Waste impact plan,” said Keith Dailey, group VP of corporate affairs and chief sustainability officer, in a statement.

In a statement on its website, The WWF said it has several initiatives focusing on food, including efforts to reduce food waste such as through its Food Waste Warriors campaign, which Kroger and other companies help publicize.

At Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, the company’s Earth Month activities include promoting its seventh annual Ladybug Love Pledge, which encourages customers to vow not to use chemicals that harm ladybugs or other beneficial insects on their lawns and gardens, and to support 100% organic produce. As a part of the effort, the retailer is offering the opportunity for customers to win a $500 Natural Grocers gift card, and is donating $1 per pledge to Beyond Pesticides, a nonprofit that promotes alternatives to chemical-intensive pesticides.

Natural Grocers is also planning several product promotions and giveaways from April 20-22 (the official Earth Day is April 22). It is also promoting regenerative agricultural practices.

Portland, Ore.-based New Seasons Market is also seeking to promote regenerative agricultural practices with an Earth Month initiative. The retailer has launched a campaign called “Building Better Soil for a Healthier Future,” through which several suppliers will donate 1% of their sales at the retailer’s 21 stores to a nonprofit called Zero Foodprint, which helps farmers and ranchers implement regenerative agricultural practices.

New Seasons Market said it will also contribute 1% of its Partner Brand private label product sales during the month of April to Zero Foodprint.

“As a steward of sustainability, we are acutely aware that our decisions today shape the world we pass on to future generations,” said Nancy Lebold, CEO of New Seasons Market. “‘Building Better Soil for a Healthier Future’ is more than a campaign; it is a manifestation of New Seasons Market’s core belief that every small action contributes to a larger, positive impact on the environment.”