It’s Not Easy Being Green
By: Jan Rasikas, General Manager
I am fortunate to attend national and regional meetings where leading economists speak about the state of our economy and trends for grocery retailers. Despite the overall belt tightening in recessionary times, products and companies representing ethical business practices did not experience the anticipated declining sales.
In fact, many economists predicted sales to drop substantially for this category but it’s the opposite of what happened. The price of organic and ‘green’ products did not stop consumers from purchasing; instead they kept or added organic and green products to their shopping lists!
This means many consumers, with less to spend, select high quality organic foods and decide to support companies that give back to their communities. Why, we might ask? Well… I leave this for the economists to spin; they too need a job.
But we get a bird’s eye view here at the Viroqua Food Co-op. We experience firsthand the commitment folks have to the health and wellbeing of their families, community and the environment. They choose organic foods, cook from scratch, and clean their homes with non-toxic products. They recycle, compost and grow their own veggies. When we tell the story of a company who donates a percentage of their profits to charity, certifies for Fair Trade or follows environmentally sound practices, we see shoppers making a choice to support those companies. When we mark a product as local or regional, we know we’re helping folks recognize the importance of building a strong local food economy.
Beware American consumer! These days’ being green is a marketable idea that doesn’t require the proof of good intentions or actual practices. Green-washing and Local-washing are attempts to jump on the bandwagon to gain increased sales! Green and local products are attractive to retailers because of their growth trends, but calling it local doesn’t make so. Big box stores are advertising themselves as ‘your local outlet.’ Garden products labeled as ‘green’ and organic were recently discovered to contain not one certified organic ingredient.
At VFC, our local tags signify a product as grown or produced within a 100 mile radius of Viroqua. Regional tags are for products from the 4 states around us and greater Wisconsin. As for green; the VFC used many green building materials and practices when we built our current store, but we’re not stopping there! Here are a few of our recent projects along with a few coming up:
- We have plans for photo voltaic or solar thermal panels on our south roof to heat water and collect energy. We are eligible for grant money and incentives but also need to add our own funding to complete the project. Watch for details and opportunities to help us achieve supplemental solar power at the Co-op!
- Jeff, VFC’s facilities manager, is using 6 watt LEDs (light emitting diode) to replace the 20 watt spotlights. They carry a 15 year warranty and cut energy usage by over 66%.
- 2 woven aluminum night curtains were installed on open air coolers, with more coming this year. The curtains reduce energy consumption by around 30%, extend compressor life.
- An air curtain was installed over the front door to reduce hot/cold energy intrusion into the building.
- We’re beginning to replace our 4' full spectrum fluorescent lighting tubes throughout the store with LEDs that use 15 watts, cutting energy usage by over 50% in those fixtures.
- Improved recycling containers in the seating area and the patio are coming soon.
We make a positive impact on our community by choosing local, organic and truly green products and practices.
Go Co-op!
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