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i work at whole foods. i have never seen those bags before in my life!

I don't work at Whole Foods, but I've never seen them either. Really odd. Maybe you should speak to the store management.

This certainly doesn't seem like typical Whole Foods packaging, knowing the effort WFM puts into making sure branding (colors, font, logos, etc.) is consistent. It might just be your store.

31 Flavors used to use these when you bought take-home ice cream from the (a very long time ago, though.) My grandmother used, and re-used (unto self-destruction) these as lunch bags.

I'd also say that they'd make good leftovers bags for guests? Or maybe figure out a hot pack, hot-water-bottle-in-bed sort of use for them for when you're sick? That way you don't have to use bleach to avoid spreading the germs...

I haven't seen them at my local Whole Foods, but in general I find that stores vary in how much effort they put into being green. My whole foods has 8 flat screen TVs running pointless ads all the times, which I find to be a complete waste.

When I'm carrying everything in fabric totes, I have to say I kind of like raw chicken to be sort of sequestered in something sealed...maybe I'm just nervous that way, but poultry juices raw veg = frightening, so I don't mind the extra packaging. I think this is all they have in terms of extra bagging these days, so that's what they use.

They use them at my WF in Union Square! I typically only accept them for raw chicken or ground beef, because I, like Maggine, get a little grossed out at the thought of meat juice.

I've never seen one, and I think ours still has plastic bags for the raw chicken. I'm not sure which is worse, environmentally, but if there's something leaking chicken 'juice' in either it's getting tossed!

I have seen these used at WF. My guess is that they are not used much in suburban stores (where most of the shoppers are likely driving home with their food) and are used more as a convencience to city shoppers (who may have a long subway ride or walk home with their food, and who maybe otherwise would feel nervous about waiting on an un-air-conditioned subway platform with raw meat, soft cheeses, etc.).

they only used these for a few months at my local WF. after realizing most folks only travel a short distance after shopping, and mostly in air conditioned cars, i imagine they saw continued use as a waste. i could never figure out a way to reuse them. in fact, i'm pretty sure i still have a few floating around my pantry.

Instead of using these bags, why not bring a small insulated lunch bag or cooler for the times you're going to bring raw meat or frozen foods home? If enough people do this, there won't be a need for the bags.

Whole Foods Market may seem quite corporate but in actuality the stores and regions are quite decentralized. The decision to use these bags probably came from short-sighted but well-meaning over-eager local management. I would offer your concerns to the store directly, as customer feedback is quite frequently taken very seriously.

Weird. I've never seen them in the WF here in Madison. I agree with whoever above reasoned that they are probably used more in places where people walk/take the subway/public transport with their groceries.

Trader Joe's sells reusable grocery bags that are insulated in a bunch of different sizes. I'm surprised WF doesn't!

They're not exactly decentralized, but certainly regionalized. I used to work at a few NYC stores and they definitely overuse them in this region. They also automatically double bag the very strong bags even if something is super light like one roll of paper towels.

Whole Foods as a concept is all about reducing waste, but Whole Foods employees, at least in NY, don't seem to care or even understand the concept.

And WF does sell those freezer bags in 2 sizes, geekgirl, but I guess people without cars can't be bothered to carry bags to the store (usually coming straight from work) over and over again. It's easy when you can throw a few bags in the car, but even I often forget an extra bag when I go to work.

They are used everywhere in Australia, although typically limited to holding roasted chickens to keep them warm. The idea that people put cold things in them is odd to me.

My WF is downtown Seattle and I've never seen this type of packaging. And they def. encourage us to bring our own bags, which I try to do, but sometimes forget. But when I don't bring my own, I always use the paper for my glass and other recyclables.

WF (NYC) almost always puts my soup in these which usually means my soup is too hot when I get back to the office.

I'm in Arizona, and the WF near me provides ice with cold or frozen things. They always ask first, but I really appreciate it when buying fish/meat in the summer. I've never seen these bags though.