Wholesome Market

Our Sustainability Framework

• Emissions & Key Environmental Issues

  What is your company doing to reduce your emissions or combat key environmental issues (e.g. waste (packaging, end of life product strategy or recycling), biodiversity, land use, water, chemical use, energy use, and natural resource use etc.)?

  We closely monitor our carbon emissions and strive to reduce our footprint as much as possible. Operationally, we have implemented sustainable practices in our office and warehouse including renewable energy, recycling and waste management, remote working arrangements and sustainable transportation, among others. We support the local economy, sourcing directly where possible and prioritising Australian brands. All our brand partners are sustainable champions, starting with their ingredients and farming principles to how they package their products, to the causes they support. For order fulfilment we prioritise ground delivery to minimise carbon emissions and our own packaging is 100% post-consumer recyclable or reusable. Where we cannot reduce or eliminate emissions, we offset through Greenfleet to support reforestation projects here in Australia. We support OzHarvest to help fight climate change by diverting food waste from landfill while alleviating hunger. We reward progress and understand that our partners are in different stages of their sustainability journey. If for any reason packaging is not kerb-side recyclable, we offer our customers recycling options through our TerraCycle program.

• Materials

  How are the products your company offers made from environmentally friendly materials (e.g. recycled, organic materials)?

  We support brands that have made a commitment to responsible sourcing and ethical supply chain management. They use organic or regenerative ingredients and work with growers who apply these principles in their agricultural methods. Our brand partners prioritise sustainable packaging and are each on an individual journey to minimise their carbon footprint wholistically. Our own packaging is made from 100% post-consumer recyclable or reusable material, from the box to the void fill to the tape that holds it together.

• Service Offering

  How are the service/s you offer environmentally friendly?

  We exist to enable Australians to access the best eco-health products (products that do good by you, the community and the planet) at affordable prices. We all know how hard quality brands and products are to come by and, when you finally find a good one, it’s often well beyond the weekly grocery spend, if you’re lucky enough to even have a budget to begin with. We offer our customers the ability to afford to live sustainably and conscientiously. By hand selecting brand partners that care deeply about the planet and protecting its finite resources, we have eliminated the need for guesswork. Our member community can trust that the products they use are made sustainably and the companies that make them are doing so responsibly. We send our parcels responsibly by using recyclable packaging, prioritising ground delivery and offsetting carbon emissions we can’t reduce or eliminate.

• Supply Chain

  Do you partner with ethical factories that meet international labor standards? What processes have you implemented to make your supply chain more sustainable?

  While we do not partner directly with factories as we are a marketplace, we assess the supply chains of our brand partners to ensure that they are operating in an ethical and responsible manner from seed to shelf.

• Community Initiatives

  How does your company give back to the community (e.g. financial donations, volunteering, partnerships etc.)?

  We created Wholesome as a for-purpose business. We support social justice and enabling access to eco-health products through our GIVES program. We commit to providing free memberships to individuals and families who need it most and healthy meals for the most vulnerable Australians. We commit to donate one free membership for every paying member. We donate the equivalent of five healthy meals for every paying member through our not-for-profit partner OzHarvest. Working with OzHarvest not only helps to alleviate hunger, the most basic human need, but also contributes to fighting climate change by diverting surplus food from ending up in landfill and delivering it to charities that help feed people in need. We also partner with Greenfleet to offset carbon emissions from the delivery of our parcels and emissions that we cannot reduce or eliminate operationally. On behalf of its partners, Greenfleet plants native biodiverse forests in Australia to restore critical ecosystems and capture carbon emissions.

• Equality, Diversity & Inclusion

  How has your company made a commitment to achieve and maintain inclusion & diversity (e.g. Gender / Race / Ethnicity / National Origin / Sexual Orientation / Religion / Disability / Age)?

  We are a female and minority founded business and an equal opportunity employer and workplace. We are committed to maintaining inclusivity at all levels of our operation and celebrate diversity in our workplace and amongst our suppliers and partners. We are proud to support flexible working arrangements to accommodate a range of family responsibilities and general health and wellness. The very essence of our business is to make healthy and sustainable groceries affordable for all Australians. We achieve this by offering members close to wholesale prices on eco-health products for just $5/month. We also offer free memberships to Australians who may not be able to afford the annual membership fee. Inclusion and diversity are integral to the eco-health criteria we assess when selecting brand partners. We work with and support brand partners who embrace inclusion and diversity practices. We also seek brands creating products that address dietary intolerances (e.g. gluten and nuts) so that all Australians can enjoy delicious and nutritious food regardless of their dietary needs or choices. We aim to create a meaningful, informative platform to celebrate the diverse stories and journeys of our incredible brand partners.

• Circular Models

  How does your circular model or circular initiative work?

  As a business, how we operate and with whom we partner, circularity is an ultimate goal. We strive to increasingly employ circular strategies and principles within our own operations and only support brands that are doing so as well.

• Sustainability Certifications

  Our certifications