Environmental Sustainability

Patagonia announced yesterday it will donate 100 percent of its Black Friday sales — estimated to be well over $2 million — to grassroots environmental groups. The donations will come from sales at both its 80 global stores and Patagonia.com on Black Friday. The move isn't entirely out of character for the brand. Patagonia already donates 1…

In episode 60 of Total Retail Talks, Christopher Wu, co-founder and CEO of Paper Culture, an online retailer that offers modern design and sustainable products, including stationery, wedding invitations and wall decor, talks about the growth of the business, and in particular how a commitment to environmentally friendly products and attracting millennials to the brand…

Patagonia is joining other companies that are giving workers a day off on Election Day, saying it wants to encourage its employees to have the time to elect candidates up and down the ballot who will protect the environment. A movement called "Take Off Election Day" has enlisted hundreds of tech companies, mainly smaller ones, to…

Products that minimize harm to our planet benefit all of us, thus the most sustainable retail solution is the most desirable solution. As a retailer, however, implementing sustainability doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice style. Sustainable products can be deemed design-forward by providing functional, fashionable products that allow retailers to send a message to consumers: You don’t have to sacrifice…

TreeHouse, a sustainable home improvement retail company, is ready to take on giants such as The Home Depot and Lowe's in the same manner Whole Foods Market challenged traditional grocers. This was a key finding gleaned from a fireside chat with Garrett Boone, board chairman of TreeHouse and co-founder and chairman emeritus at The Container…

Yesterday, Trader Joe's, the popular California-based company, was the third supermarket retailer (after Safeway and Costco) in recent years to agree to put funds towards reducing refrigerator coolant leaks that deplete the ozone layer and contribute to global warming. The Los Angeles Times reports the grocery retailer will spend about $2 million to correct the…

Just in time for Earth Day, H&M wants your old clothes. From April 18 to April 24, the Swedish fast-fashion brand will give shoppers a 30 percent discount in exchange for outgrown, hole-ridden or no longer trendy garments. H&M says it has recycled 25,000 tons of unwanted clothing since it began the in-store recycling program…

Whole Foods Market Inc. is embracing solar power. The Austin, Texas-based grocery chain has signed agreements with SolarCity and NRG Energy Inc. to install rooftop solar units at up to 100 stores and distribution centers. NRG, based in Princeton, N.J., will install the units at up to 84 locations in nine states, according to a joint statement from…

Ruchit Garg, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur, says that he worries that something isn’t right with his internet shopping habit. With each new delivery to his doorstep — sometimes several in a day — he faces the source of his guilt and frustration: another cardboard box. Then, when he opens the shipment, he is often confronted…

Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc will pay about $13.2 million in fines and forfeitures to resolve a U.S. Department of Justice investigation into the import of certain flooring products in 2013, the department said. The hardwood flooring retailer's shares rose as much as 16.8 percent on Monday. Lumber Liquidators has also agreed to an organizational probation…