Yesterday I went to Whole Foods (Venice) fully prepared to do some eco-vegan shopping: I brought a reusable shopping bag, reusable produce bags, and a glass jar that once contained apple sauce. When I walked in the door my first stop was the customer service desk to inquire if they would allow me to put their freshly ground organic peanut butter in my glass jar (instead of their plastic containers). At first, the manager was a little hesitant because the jar weighed a lot (.60 lbs), but when I explained that I was trying to avoid plastic she helped me out. She weighed my jar then multiplied that by the cost of a pound of bulk organic peanut butter ($3.99), and then asked me to return to her when I filled it. At checkout, the cashier was a little unsure, but when she called over the manager the process was very smooth. I walked out of the store without buying anything prepackaged and I saved some money too (the peanut butter was only $2.50 - organic peanut butter can be up to $5)

The water you're drinking right now probably contains chemicals linked to cancer...assuming you're drinking out of a plastic bottle or container - yes, even the one that says it's "BPA free" or "50% less plastic". So why does the label say it's "safe" and "pure"? Marketing. Truth be told, that bottle of water could be worse than what comes out of your tap, as the plastic has most likely leached something dangerous into it. I'm sure you're skeptical, because you've been conditioned to believe bottled water is better for you, but if you have even a doubt in your mind isn't it worth reading further?