We Are Environmentalists 

We believe that the destruction of our environment and climate change are the biggest problems facing humankind today.  We believe that through leading by example we can have the biggest impact to protect and restore the environment.  By instituting best practices to reduce our impact on the environment, and by educating staff and customers, we are influencing customers, employees, and many other businesses.

We Take Action to Support and Live MOM's Mission

• We choose organic products whenever possible. We stock an overall higher percentage of organic items than any other major grocery chain, and sell only 100% USDA Certified Organic Produce.
• We buy local whenever possible. This helps reduce the amount of fuel used to transport products, supports small businesses, and boosts our local economy.
• We support green business by featuring products by companies who use renewable green power to manufacture their products.
• We sell only sustainable seafood. We work with a third-party non-profit organization to make well-informed choices about the varieties of fish and shellfish sold at MOM's, ensuring that none of the seafood on our shelves contributes to overfishing and environmental harm. Read more
• We do not sell bottled water. We offer a wide selection of water filters and reusable bottles, plus reverse osmosis filtered water from a special in-store dispenser. Learn more
• We reduce waste. We offer a wide variety of products in bulk, which uses less packaging. We package our products in biodegradable plastic whenever we can and use biodegradable cups, plates and utensils in our sampling and coffee stations. We installed energy-efficient hand driers in our bathrooms, saving energy and eliminating the use of paper towels.
• We help others recycle. We offer ink cartridge, plastic bottle-cap and C.F.L. bulb drop off recycling as a service to all customers and employees.
• We use green building materials when we can. Our Columbia East and Frederick stores feature the latest technology in skylights (reducing the need for overhead halide light fixtures) and concrete flooring (which require less servicing and chemicals to upkeep). Fast growing, renewable materials like bamboo are used to build customer service and bread counters and many of the wooden fixtures in our stores are made from recycled lumber.
• 100% wind power provides us with the electricity to run all our stores and our central office.
• We conserve energy. Our "No Open Doors" policy for fridges, freezers and exterior doors helps us avoid wasting energy used for heating and cooling. We "Power Down" at night by shutting off all unnecessary lights and equipment and we removed half of the fluorescent light bulbs in our office, thereby saving energy and reducing glare. 
• We compost produce clippings and other waste such as biodegradable utensils and non-recyclable paper products, diverting tons of materials from the waste stream. 
• We support the community by participating in programs like Adopt-A-Road, and by regularly contributing to local organizations, events and happenings in the region.
• We have Green Benefits. We offer our employees a "Green Benefits" package, which includes extensive education on how to lead an environmentally friendly lifestyle, $3000 incentive for the purchase of a hybrid vehicle, 20% subsidy incentive to purchase Energy Star appliances and electric lawnmowers, and a "Green Household" package which includes CFL bulbs, clothesline, programmable thermostats, and a generous employee discount on all the products in our store.

We "Make It Happen" In The Local Community...

Over the past twenty years, we have met with and convinced numerous other companies to offset their carbon by purchasing wind power credits.  We have, free of charge, gone to community organizations, businesses and schools, and educated them on how to be environmentally responsible. We've provided them with contacts, training materials, and exposed them to best practices. We have also changed many of our customers' and employees' behavior by educating them on the ramifications of disposable bags, and the benefits of composting, proper tire inflation, wind power, recycling and more.

...And With Company-Wide Initiatives

In March, 2005 we launched E.R. (Environmental Restoration), announcing that we had offset 100% of our electricity use with carbon credits; hired a full-time Environmental Coordinator; and created our environmental purpose. At the launch of E.R. -- our first company-wide initiative -- the EPA Green Power Partnership listed MOM's as the nation's 10th largest purchaser of carbon wind credits. Since then, we've continued to take a leadership role as a 'Green Business' with environmental initiatives such as...

• Think Outside the Bag -- More than five years ago, MOM's began to Think Outside the Bag, eliminating plastic bags at the checkout and selling sturdy re-Use-able Bags for only .99¢. Since launch of Think Outside the Bag, MOM's shoppers have reused shopping bags hundreds of thousands of times! In 2010 alone, our customers will re-use bags 750,000 times, saving trees and lessening environmental harm caused by plastic bag litter.
• Stop the Stuff -- Inspired by the popular internet video the Story of Stuff, MOM's launched this initiative in April 2008 to greatly reduce the amount of trash we put into the waste stream. In the first six months we successfully brought our company wide-recycling rate up to 85% of our total waste. That kept more than 825 tons of materials out of the waste stream! We recycled everything we could and tracked the results. You can see what we recycled in 2008 here.
• Plastic Surgery -- In the summer of 2010, MOM's kicked off Plastic Surgery, a comprehensive storewide effort to eliminate unnecessary plastic waste in every way possible. The first (and most important) step was to ban bottled water. MOM's is also cutting out the use of plastic around the store by working to replace everyday items like plastic produce bags, deli containers, and bulk food wrappers with packaging made from biodegradable materials. More

We believe that education is vital to the success of our environmental initiatives. By offering new perspectives and explaining      WHY it is important to take action and HOW it can be done, we can encourage others to action and join us as we work to find new ways to      reduce, reuse, recycle and restore the environment.