Why Does Trader Joe's Use So Much Plastic?

Trader Joe's customers swear by the quality of the store's products, but have long been critical about its packaging choices. Shoppers cite the prevalence of impossible-to-remove seals as evidence of why they can't stand the plastic film on Trader Joe's containers. Redditors rant that they wish the store would overhaul its packaging style for frozen foods (or at least make bags resealable), but perhaps the biggest gripe customers have with Trader Joe's is that there's too much plastic. When certain foods are packaged in plastic, it helps extend product shelf life. Extended shelf life leads to reduced waste and, in turn, may contribute to affordable grocery prices — which Trader Joe's has. Yet for some, the trade-off of Trader Joe's cheap food is not worth the environmental risk associated with excessive use of plastic.

A petition at Change.org urging Trader Joe's to reduce its plastic packaging collected more than 124,900 signatures. The petition author states, "Trader Joe's is great at encouraging people to bring their bags and buy organic, but it gets an 'F' on packaging." The petitioner also shares that 91% of plastic in circulation does not get recycled, ends up in the ocean, and becomes entangled with our food and water sources. It's a troubling statistic that a 2022 report from the OECD backs. Trader Joe's has made steps to replace some of its plastic with compostable material, but customers point to a lack of effort and commitment from the company.

A Reddit user on r/traderjoes shared their annoyance at the amount of plastic containers they unpacked after a grocery trip. Other comments expressed shared frustration, but some Redditors offered observations of gradual progress. One user said their local Trader Joe's transitioned from plastic to cardboard for its ready-made meals. Another noted their store has more "loose" produce than it did several years ago, when bananas were the only option.

In another thread of the same subreddit, u/goldtalon opened a conversation by saying their local Trader Joe's reverted back to clam-shell containers and plastic trays for produce, asking, "What happened to the pledge to reduce plastic?" referencing the company's 2019 pledge to remove 1 million pounds of packaging from its stores. A Trader Joe's employee chimed in, explaining that efforts were made to switch to cardboard packaging for produce items, but it caused the products to rot faster.

As Trader Joe's continues to face challenges regarding long-term sustainability, customers continue to rally against its heavy reliance on plastic packaging, with the health risks associated with microplastics in mind. Most microplastics are the byproduct of larger plastic materials that do not decompose. Research studies on environmental exposure to microplastics have linked them to human DNA damage, digestive disruption, and inflammation. Microplastics also could contribute to neurological health decline and increase the risk for dementia, according to the National Institute of Health.