Green Options

I just read an article about a new in-house organics label from a retail giant here in Canada, Shoppers Drug Mart. Despite the name “drug mart,” Shoppers carries an impressively large inventory of edible items. And while I have always appreciated their supply of organic shampoo, deodorant and toothpaste, I haven’t given the food aisle a second glance.

Most of their offerings are of the Doritos n’ gummi worms variety. You know, food that isn’t labeled with real words. It made me think of the changing landscape of discount organics and what it means for consumers.

It’s often hard to be green. I have recently written elsewhere about the phenomena of Greenwashing, pointing to recent research showing that consumers rarely get what they sign up for out of green products. Wary of this, Swiss supermarket chains are launching new initiatives to provide better consumer guarantees for lowering the environmental impact of their purchases, making it just a little easier to be a good green citizen.

Switzerland’s two major supermarket rivals, Migros and Coop have launched different schemes – although potentially confusing for customers, this is at least an indication that competition for greenness is heating up.