Protecting Natural Resources

As a retailer of animal-derived products, we recognize our responsibility to uphold animal welfare within our supply chain. We expect our suppliers to uphold the Five Freedoms framework for animal welfare, which mandates freedom from hunger and thirst; freedom from discomfort; freedom from pain, injury, or disease; freedom to express normal behavior; and freedom from fear and distress.

We expect our suppliers to comply with all applicable laws and to take a zero-tolerance approach to animal cruelty, abuse, and neglect. We encourage suppliers to continually improve their animal welfare standards and practices, and to work toward recognized animal welfare certifications or industry guidelines that include welfare provisions. For information about animal welfare at Whole Foods Market, see our Meat Department Quality Standards.

Amazon and Whole Foods Market are committed to sourcing fresh and frozen beef from regions with low deforestation risk or with full supply chain traceability in our grocery Private Brands in North America and Europe by the end of 2025.

For our Grocery Private Brands selection in North America and Europe, we are committed to sourcing cocoa that is certified against sustainability standards by Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade International, Fair Trade USA, or other independently verified third-party schemes (such as Cocoa Horizons) by 2025.

Our Grocery Private Brands selection in Europe already meets these standards. All 365 by Whole Foods Market-brand chocolate bars, chocolate chips, and baking chocolate are certified by Fair Trade USA or Fairtrade International.

For our Grocery Private Brands selection in North America and Europe, we are committed to sourcing coffee that is certified against sustainability standards by Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade International, or Fair Trade USA by 2025.

Our Grocery Private Brands selection in Europe already meets these standards, while most of the North American selection is certified. All Whole Foods Market and 365 by Whole Foods Market-packaged coffee is ethically sourced and certified according to an approved third-party certification, including Rainforest Alliance, Fair Trade USA, or Fair Trade International.

We source all cotton for Amazon Private Brands apparel products from more-sustainable sources. We define more-sustainable as sourced from recycled materials, from farms certified as producing organic cotton, or through the Better Cotton Initiative.

Amazon is committed to sourcing cage-free eggs in our grocery Private Brands whole shell egg products in North America and Europe. In 2022, we expanded our cage-free shell and liquid eggs commitment to apply to our entire section in North America, three years ahead of schedule. At Whole Foods Market, all shell and liquid eggs sold in our dairy cases and used in our kitchens and bakeries in the U.S. go beyond cage-free and are audited to one of four production systems to meet Whole Foods Market’s Animal Welfare Standards for Laying Hens.

We’re striving to source all leather for our Amazon Private Brands apparel and shoe products from more-sustainable sources by the end of 2023. To achieve this, we will source from tanneries that meet the Leather Working Group’s Bronze-level or higher.

We source all man-made cellulosic fibers—including rayon, viscose, lyocell, and modal—for our Amazon Private Brands apparel products from more-sustainable sources. We use the nonprofit Canopy’s tools and reports to help avoid fibers sourced from endangered forests, endangered species’ habitats, or other controversial sources.

Amazon uses palm oil certified against sustainability standards in our Private Brands food and nonfood grocery products in North America and Europe. In a small number of cases, palm oil credits may be used to cover small volumes and complex derivatives. We revisit these cases annually with applicable suppliers and agree on plans to transition to physically certified palm oil where possible. In addition, all 365 by Whole Foods Market-brand food items containing palm oil, palm kernel oil, palm fruit oil, and palm shortening are produced using sustainable oil products. Whole Foods Market is committed to expanding this sourcing standard to nonfood items under its exclusive brands.

In addition to complying with the European restrictions on the use of gestation crates, Amazon is committed to sourcing gestation crate-free pork by 2025 in our Grocery Private Brands fresh pork products in North America. At Whole Foods Market, all pork sold in the Meat Department is also crate-free and certified by the Global Animal Partnership—a nonprofit alliance of producers, retailers, animal advocates, and scientists that certifies producers’ animal welfare practices to more than 100 animal welfare standards. See Whole Foods Market’s Meat Department Quality Standards for more information.

We’re increasing the use of recycled fabrics in Amazon Private Brands apparel products, including moving from conventional to recycled polyester, and launching products made from innovative recycled fibers.

Amazon Grocery Private Brands offers wild-caught and farmed seafood that is certified or rated against sustainability criteria and can be traced back to the source. This applies to fresh or frozen single-ingredient products as well as to any product in which seafood makes up more than 5% or is in the top three ingredients. All fresh and frozen seafood in the Whole Foods Market Seafood department must be Responsibly Farmed or sustainable wild-caught (including frozen and breaded options, appetizers, smoked seafood and seafood dips). This applies wherever the seafood is sourced. Canned tuna must be sustainable wild-caught and traceable to the boats.

Within North America, we determined through a risk assessment review that the majority of the soy in our Private Brands animal protein and meat counter supply chains is domestically sourced, and thus is unlikely to pose a deforestation risk.

Within Europe, Amazon’s goal is that the soy in our Grocery and Consumable Private Brands supply chains will be deforestation free by the end of 2025, with a cut-off date of 2020 (meaning that the soy has not been sourced from land that has been subject to deforestation since the end of 2020).

For our Grocery Private Brands selection in North America and Europe, we are committed to sourcing tea that is certified against sustainability standards by Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade International, or Fair Trade USA by 2025. All 365 by Whole Foods Market tea is certified by Fair Trade USA or Rainforest Alliance.

In North America and Europe, Grocery Private Brands are committed to sourcing paper products such as paper towels, toilet paper, and facial tissue that are certified against sustainability standards, or as recycled by organizations such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), Sustainable Forestry Initiative, and Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification. All 365 by Whole Foods Market paper products are either made from 100% recycled materials or certified by FSC.

We strive to use sustainably sourced fiber in our Grocery and Consumable Private Brands supply chains, and are working with our suppliers to increase the amount of fiber from responsibly managed forests and/or recycled materials in our paper-based primary packaging.