Trader Joe's Is Mum About Its Sustainability Efforts

After buying a chocolate bar at Trader Joe’s that happened to be fair trade certified, I wondered if the company had sustainability information, particularly its environmental efforts, listed on its website. To my dismay, I discovered that it did not list anything about its sustainability efforts, and did not even publish a corporate social responsibility (CSR) report. I decided to contact the company through its general form, and inquire about its lack of sustainability information and CSR report.

The email I received back from the company told me that the buying department at Trader Joe’s “works really hard to ensure that we work only with very reputable, environmentally conscious, ethical vendors that are also often very small vendors.” The email went on to tell me that “it is also often a very delicate balance between our making every effort possible to offer a wide variety of high quality, delicious, unique and affordable products, while still balancing our concern over the environment and fair trade practices.” I can appreciate that, but I still do not understand why the company can’t tell me, the consumer, about its sustainability efforts, namely through a CSR report.

The rest of the email reminds me that since the company is privately-held, it does not “currently participate in surveys or studies of the nature that you referenced, or divulge specific business practice information.” The author of the email, who will remain anonymous, admits that the company’s refusal to be transparent “tends to perhaps reflect negatively on us, while not fully offering a true representation of our current practices and position.” Yes, it does reflect negatively on Trader Joe’s, so much so that I will not shop at another of its stores until it issues a CSR report, like almost every other company on the planet.

“We do hope you understand our current business model, and we hope this information helps,” the last sentence of the email declared. Yes, I do think I understand Trader Joe’s business model. It is not one that embraces disclosure of sustainability efforts to customers, but stays tight-lipped about any of its business practices.

Joe Coulombe started Trader Joe’s in Southern California in 1968, but sold it to Aldi, owned by Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1979, although Coulombe remained the CEO of Trader’s Joe’s until 1980. The current CEO is Dan Bane. In the 1980s, the Albrechts divided up Aldi into Aldi Nord, owned by Theo Albrecht and Aldi Sud, owned by Karl Albrecht. Trader Joe’s is currently owned by Aldi Nord. Theo Albrecht died in 2010.

“Insider information about Trader Joe’s is scant, and this is seemingly at odds with its image as a neighborhood store,” a study by MIT says. The study attributes the company’s lack of transparency to the “influence from Aldi, its privately-held parent company” which is “reluctant to peel back the curtain on Trader Joe’s business model, and they are highly secretive about its business operations, supplier information and internal logistics.”

While the lack of transparency is part of Trader Joe’s business model, the lack of a CSR plan tends to be common among privately held companies. A PricewaterhouseCooopers report released in the spring found that 48 percent of the Canadian-based private companies don’t have a CSR plan in place. The report also found that 53 percent of the 82 Canadian private companies surveyed view CSR as “nice-to-have” but not a priority.

Perhaps if Trader Joe’s understood that its customers want to know about its sustainability efforts, it would be more transparent.

Related Stories:

The True Price of Chocolate

Food from China? Whole Foods vs. Trader Joe’s

Is Seafood Sustainable? Demand for Eco-Friendly Seafood Grows

Read more: groceries, sustainable food, trader joes

Photo credit: Safoocat via flickr

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Sarah M.

12:30PM PDT on Oct 24, 2011

Really Trader Joe's? How disappointing. And for those of you complaining about expecting more from TJ's, what's the deal?--We should expect more from them because of the reputation they have built and the image they portray as a specialty health food store. No one is harping on evil places like WM or KM because everyone knows they are evil and people who care wouldn't even consider shopping there--duh.

send a green star

Jane B.

8:13AM PDT on Aug 20, 2011

Yes, "people tend to worship Trader Joe's for some reason." I know I do. Their customer
service is superlative, waaay better than any other grocery stores. They carry gourmet items
you can't get anywhere else and they are far less expensive. Best of all they TRY very hard
to be "green". They TRY to get pesticide free produce. They put signs on their frozen
seafood that state there is some mercury in it. They can't help it that all our oceans are
poluted. At least they put a warning out. No other grocery stores do that. Give Trader Joe's
a break. I don't care if they are secretive about some dumb ass report. Why don't you
people go after Wal-Mart? They don't even TRY to please their customers but they do
try to screw their employees.

Christa L.

1:32PM PDT on Aug 7, 2011

Signed petition.

Ann S.

1:44AM PDT on Jul 29, 2011

Thanks for bringing this to my attention. I had no idea that TJ's was so secretive, but I can understand it not being a priority if that is common practice for private companies. They try to exude a green image, but you're right, I don't have proof of it. Although I am happy to read no animal testing on the labels of their personal cleaning supplies. I'm not sure how much one can tout conservation and environmentalism when speaking about a store that specializes in trade though. I mean, you do realize most of the products come from other countries at TJ's, right? So, think about the transportation involved with shipping those products from so far away to the various TJ's locations. Kinda counteracts the greenness, no?

Linda H.

8:30PM PDT on Jul 23, 2011

So, WHERE DO you shop???? Give me something positive and a sliver of hope in regards to shopping in America, since that IS where I live. *sigh*

Kathy B.

10:13AM PDT on Jul 20, 2011

Seriously? America is free---shop elsewhere.
I go ther sometimes & don't always find something to buy but always have a nice time.
What other grocery store actually strives to have a pleasant atmosphere?

They are private. Any more questions? Look up the word private.

scarlett g.

8:45AM PDT on Jul 20, 2011

IF YOU HAVE A GRIPE WITH THE STORE, YOU,RE FREE TO SHOP ELSEWHERE,

PERHAPS WALMART, K-MART, THE DOLLAR STORES????

Flannel D.

12:07AM PDT on Jul 20, 2011

Trader Joe's is mostly good, and yeah, lots of their food is delicious, but people tend to almost worship them for some reason.
Some of their stuff is fairly cheap, yet some is almost outrageously expensive.
Much of their stuff is organic and/or free trade, but much (if not most) is not, or at least not fully.

I don't know for sure about the no HFCS claim Rose G made, but from many of the labels I've read there, much of their stuff is not as healthy as you'd think.
Plus, almost all of their canned foods are lined with BPA.. I asked them.. and although the guy didn't have a clue which stuff wasn't, he was nice enough to take the time and effort to call the head office but couldn't get through, so I shopped around a bit and left empty handed as they'd also discontinued carrying what I was mostly after in glass jars for some reason, probably because they cost slightly more, he said.

I gave him my number and told him which particular products I was interested in and he called me back 15 minutes later, which was awesome, but a bit too late as I was already driving home, and what I wanted had BPA in it anyway, so oh well.
He did tell me they were in the process of trying to phase out stuff with BPA though, which is good.

So, yeah.. not saying they suck, as they're still better than most stores, but assuming everything there is good or a good deal is rather naive.
And they would do well to label their BPA free stuff or at least have a full list on hand in-store somewhe

Claire M.

11:31PM PDT on Jul 19, 2011

I love TJs. It would never be able to afford the quality of food they have at another store so I really hope they are ok. I understand that its a private company but perhaps they should offer up some proof of fair trade. Then again who exactly is deciding who gets to be chosen for fair trade? I see the label all over the place these days on things like $9 bars of chocolate.

Berty J.

8:15PM PDT on Jul 19, 2011

I don't trust T.J's expencive and sneaky