Saturday, January 24, 2009

Walgreens Is Jumping On the Green Wave

As a simple girl I do not wear much makeup so when I do purchase the few products I use, they are generally less expensive brands. Over the years I have tested a plethora of price ranges and find that none do any better job than the next so the convenience of being able to purchase right at my neighborhood Walgreens Pharmacy is always a nice touch. Tonight I went in to pick up a couple items and took a brief walk through the store as it had been a while since I had shopped there. I was pleasantly surprised to see three instances of Earth friendly attention in my probable ten minute stop.

First, the makeup I purchase is a pressed powder made by Wet n Wild but when attempting to locate it I found it had been replaced with a new version. Upon inspection of the package I discovered the new name was Natural Wear. Intrigued I read on to discover the makeup is made from 100% natural ingredients and the package, now a heavy duty cardboard as opposed to the previous plastic, is made from recycled paper. Upon testing it at home I was pleased that it looked just as nice as what I had used in the past and it felt good on as well.

Walking around I noticed some kitchen towels on an end cap and since I always like to reach out and touch that kind of item I did so. I stopped walking right away as I read the sign indicating they were 100% bamboo fiber. As a rapidly renewing resource it is an excellent choice for creating fiber and tends to be much softer to the touch than cotton. What made me excited was to see that the towels came in a package of two and were only $5.00; just $2.00 more expensive than their much rougher cotton counterparts around the corner.

Deciding to forego purchasing the towels I headed to the cash register where on the counter I read a sign that encouraged customers to either bring their own shopping bags or just simply say “skip the plastic” and take their items without a superfluous plastic bag. I generally do this when I have a small number of items that will fit in my purse anyway but it was wonderful to have the reminder.

With over 5,500 stores nationwide and in Puerto Rico it was encouraging to see this company that was founded about 108 years ago is rolling with the times. Not only do they employ local workers in their establishments but they are keeping an eye on the planet as a whole by encouraging sound shopping practices and offering eco friendly selections to their customers. Keep it up Walgreens!

7 comments:

Bridgete said...

Yay Walgreens!

I've been using a similar organic makeup from Physician's Formula. The powder is great. The blush goes on a little light but at least it's harder to mess up that way. The eye shadow leaves something to be desired though, it goes on really light and then is gone in a couple hours. The eyeliner is great though. And...that's all I use. =)

Word verification: clogy. What happens to your pores when you use non-organic makeup. =P

Dave King said...

Bit out of my depth here! But good on yer!

High Desert Diva said...

Excellent news!

I frequently use W&W makeup also, but couldn't find it at my last trip to Target. Walgreens may have a new customer!

Karen said...

I'm a Mary Kay gal so I don't buy makeup in retail stores, but I love going into Walgreens... they always seem to have things that are just a little different. Wish more stores would put up the reminder about declining a plastic bag!

disabled account said...

i also use physician's formula. i buy it at target though. they have an organic line that's very similar to the popular mineral wear brands, but less expensive. plus, it's paraben free, other nasty stuff free and accidentally vegan to boot. yay!

disabled account said...

should that be mineralware instead of mineral wear?

CSD Faux Finishing said...

I also used to use PF but it seemed to make me break out more in the summer and for the extra couple bucks it didn't seem worth it.

I keep thinking about those bamboo towels, I must try them out since they are at such a good price and I have heard wonderful things about bamboo (antibacterial, absorbant -- all good stuff for kitchen hand towels!). Will likely pick them up today and let you all know!