How zero waste is Aldi? Deep dive into Aldi's sustainability claims...
Вставка
- Опубліковано 20 чер 2024
- Is it possible to be low waste at Aldi? Let's find out! First, we're going to do a deep dive into Aldi's zero waste claims before we actually go try to zero waste shop at Aldi. Let me know which grocery store I should try next and don't forget to check out my reviews of Kroger and Meijer below!
Get my FREE guides to spotting greenwashing and zero waste grocery shopping here: www.thesimpleenvironmentalist...
Aldi climate and energy: corporate.aldi.us/corporate-s...
Aldi environment: corporate.aldi.us/corporate-s...
Videos mentioned/recommended:
How many items can I fit in my Baggu shopping bag? • How many items can I f...
How to zero waste grocery shop without a bulk store: • How to zero waste groc...
Come low waste grocery shopping with me: • Come low waste grocery...
Can you zero waste grocery shop at Meijer? • Zero waste grocery sho...
Zero waste groceries at Kroger? • Is Kroger really zero ...
What is greenwashing? • WHAT IS GREENWASHING a...
How to spot greenwashing for yourself: • How to spot greenwashi...
Which material is the best? • Which material is the ...
What do all of these certifications mean? • What does B Corp mean ...
Timestamps:
00:00 - How this works
00:34 - Deep dive - climate & energy
8:41- Deep dive - Environment
14:36 - Who own's Aldi?
16:21 - Let's go shopping at Aldi!
18:36 - Final thoughts on Aldi
SHOP MY FAVES!
My e-bike from Aventon: www.avantlink.com/click.php?t...
Whisper bidet: www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=15...
Pela compostable phone cases: www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=12...
Allbirds shoes: shop.allbirds.com/k33o/thesim...
Modibodi period underwear: modibodi.pxf.io/c/3497631/996...
Meliora laundry powder: meliorameansbetter.com?sca_ref=4747255.DvudG0Wmyg&
Leaf Shave safety razor: www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=21...
Plastic free makeup from Axiology: www.shareasale.com/r.cfm?b=20...
Bathroom swaps from Plaine Products: www.plaineproducts.com/ref/th...
Get all your eco needs from Earth Hero: www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinm...
SHOP MY GEAR
Canon EOS-R: amzn.to/3SzUPX1
Soft box lighting: amzn.to/3SBxVys
Rode microphone: amzn.to/3JBIw8G
Canon 15-35mm lens: amzn.to/3JCHwB0
INSTAGRAM: / thesimpleenvironmentalist
TIKTOK: www.tiktok.com/@simpleenviron...
WEBSITE: www.thesimpleenvironmentalist...
PATREON: / thesimpleenvironmentalist
FACEBOOK COMMUNITY! / thesimpleenvironmental...
DAN & EMMA'S CHANNEL: / @emmaanddan5213
FOR BUSINESS INQUIRIES: www.thesimpleenvironmentalist...
BUY OUR PHOTOGRAPHY: dendlerphotography.myportfoli...
FREE GUIDES! How to Spot Greenwashing, How to have a Low Waste Christmas, How to Live Zero Waste from Home: www.thesimpleenvironmentalist...
DISCLAIMER: Links included may be affiliate links. If you purchase a product from a link, I may receive a small commission with no charge to you! Thank you for supporting my channel so that I can keep providing free content!
Get my FREE guide to zero waste grocery shopping here: www.thesimpleenvironmentalist.com/resources
That's crazy that the Aldi you visited didn't have vegan options! Mine has quite a few plant milks and their own version of beyond meats in the freezer section.
On my weekly grocery trip, i do end up visiting Aldi first and walmart afterwards to pick up specific brands etc. But my Aldi is across the street from walmart, so it's not much additional driving (none if the weather is nice and I can walk). I've seen most of the Aldi stores in my area have locations close to a larger store, so i wonder if getting people to shop Aldi first for staples before the larger store is their strategy.
I'm not shocked that bad since I was shopping in the middle of Ohio cornfields haha
That’s such a bummer you didn’t find all of the things on your list! Maybe it’s just a store to store thing? I also live in the Midwest and I know that my local Aldi store has hummus, coconut milk (both carton and can), and vegan cheese. They even have vegan/gluten free frozen pizza. 🤔
it could be store to store for sure! maybe I'll give another one a go!
@@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist please do. Your opinion means a lot!
It is definitely store to store with Aldi! My parents live in Illinois while I live in Indiana and there are definitely differences between the two! I also live in a bigger city while my mom and dad live in a smaller town
@@halslibrary how interesting!
@@miss_m_yt thank you :)
Love this series. I’m not sure if your experience was location specific because the aldis I’ve been to have oat milk, coconut milk, and almond milk. Additionally they usually have a bunch of different hummuses. I also see 2-3 types of vegan cheeses and dog food. Would you be open to trying another Aldi location to see if this was a bad location.
it could be location specific!
I'm from Germany and I love Aldi. Here they have plenty of plant based options. And normally I can get anything I need there. Fruit, vegetables, baked goods, drinks, toiletries, cleaning supplies, pet food, cat litter, etc. They have weekly specials such as shoes, clothes, gardening stuff, electronics and more.
that's great to hear! I need to tell mine to up their game haha
I think I should check out mine to compare to the American ones too. Maybe even check out Rewe as well lol
@@mj2625 fors ure!
@@mj2625 for sure!
The closest Aldi store is 11 miles away so I just never have gone before. I truly didn't even realize my state had an Aldi, thought it was an East-coast shop.
If you want other grocery suggestions for your series: "Sprouts" and this store called "Natural Grocers" I keep hearing it advertised over the radio, never been before but it's much closer to my traveling hub zone and seems like it would offer zero waste finds.
I LOVE SPROUTS!! But that's a west thing and I won't have it this year at least. I also love NG!!
I also really love your videos. I just wanted to say how fun and accessible youve made being more environmentally conscious.
yay thank you!!! I try my best :)
I use Aldi all the time and I have tons of vegan options especially in the cheese and they have some vegan meat options at my store. However, they don’t have single potatoes. I understand that and I agree with you on like only wanting one pepper or something like that. I definitely had to buy three at one time. Luckily, I have a guinea pig.
that's great! perhaps mine just didn't have it!
Ugh this whole video is so frustrating for me, the 70% on aldis brand is a huge deal because Aldi only sells their brand for most items🤦♀️ here today gone tomorrow is for the name brand items that will literally only be there for a week never to be seen again🤦♀️ our Aldi has oat milk soy milk and 2 types of almond milk, vegan cream cheese, cheddar shreds, and mozzarella shreds, tofu, vegan burgers and meatballs. And Aldi hust discontinued a butt ton of their vegan options…because they are coming out with a new line later this year with over 1000 vegan options that we’re starting to see trickle out like protein waffles. That’s like a good portion of why I shop at Aldi, because it’s all their brand it’s so easy for me to boycott big brand like Kellogg because they aren’t fricken sold there and it’s not weird parent company things like other grocers
Their own brand being a majority of their stock also in theory reduces their emissions because it’s not a bunch of different warehouses factories and companies, it’s not Aldi brand and 5 others brands for butter, it’s just Aldi brand
Agreed completely
oooh true! it is a good way to ensure you shop small which is a good thing!
Aldi's vegan offerings really depend on your community. Thanks to a larger Indian population in my midwestern town, we have a full complement of vegan dairy and meat alternatives, and coconut oil too! Also, that aisle of random things is termed the "Aisle of Shame" and it's more a rotating selection of consumer goods based on trends and seasonality.
I'm an aldi and meijer shopper. Meijer weekly, Aldi about monthly (give or take)
Meijer owns a more natural foods store called Fresh Thyme, which sometimes has bulk bins (they kinda scaled them back during COVID). It might not have locations near you, but it might be interesting to check out. It's an occasional store for me
makes sense! This was in a almost 100% white community in a cornfield so they think vegans are gross haha. I need to try Fresh Thyme!
Interesting! When I shopped at Aldi back when I lived in Wisconsin, I thought their Planet Oat oat milk was the best! Weird you couldn’t find it
perhaps just my location but I'm also starting to think I didn't look hard enough with these comments haha
Trader Joe's is not a publicly traded company. It's a private company owned by Aldi Nord, part of the Aldi Group, which owns the Aldi supermarket chain. Aldi Nord acquired Trader Joe's from its founder, Joe Coulombe, in 1979.
good to know!
Loving this series‼️ Did you visit a location in Dayton? The one I sometimes I go to in Cincinnati is actually decent for plant based options. They definitely carry almond milk and I think I even saw some vegan ice cream there before. All the plastic really is maddening, though! That’s mostly why I haven’t been shopping at Aldi as much lately.
It was north of Dayton in the middle of a cornfield haha. So much plastic for sure!!
Great video! I never really thought about the stores that I shop. This gives me a better heads up on where to shop 😘❤️
yay thank you!!
Things like composting depend upon local infrastructure unless you're talking about trucking compactor trailers out of area and upto multiple states away. This said, there are a lot of dumpster divers pulling a lot of food and limited other items from a number of Aldi free standing dumpsters.
for sure! that's wildddd
I think its mostly a east coast store but we got a Wegmans in right before the pandemic and ive been loving all the plant based and more environmentally friendly options there.
I've heard good things about them!
The lack of dairy free options is good to know. We don’t have Aldi where I live, but when we travel to see family we usually have to go shopping for groceries because my daughter and I are both allergic to milk and my husband is Asian and therefore lactose intolerant. I know not to stop there.
apparently others have had better luck than I did!
At the European stores there are many vegan protein options, plant-based milks, yoghurts and cream; there is usually dog food and cat food (kibble and wet) too. Same issue with the fresh fruit and veg though.
good to know!
i live in a smaller town, but within an hour of a large city. so i get lots of vegan options at my local aldi. even vegan ice cream and ready meals! it could definitely be location specific
that's great!
I’m so sad that my nearest Aldi is 9 hours away. We have one in my hometown, and it made groceries so much less expensive
ugh NO!!
Can you please do this type of video format for sprouts? It’s one of my favorite stores, but I’d like to see what you have to say about it.
I wish I could but I no longer live where sprouts is BUT I suppose I could do a review reflecting on my time using sprouts? I shopped there exclusively from June 2021 to March 2023 so I have some experience!
Like a carbon or carbon off set credit, an energy credit is earned by doing an amount of acceptible work off of a provided list. It often includes some alternative activities like say planting a tree or few in the case of carbon foot print off set credits.
oh wow that's a shame...thanks for sharing!
Been looking forward to this video! 🤗 Definitely agree with your assessment of their current goals and your experience in the store. 👏 Your store is definitely behind (or out of stock?) in the plant based department. I’m just a few hours north from your hometown, and although our local Aldi has significantly less plant based options than the other local grocery store we frequent (Giant Eagle), it does have plant based shredded cheese (pretty comparable in taste and ingredients to other brands), firm tofu (like you said), a few kinds of frozen plant based alternatives (I’ve only ever tried one or two), miscellaneous limited-quantity plant based products that sometimes circulate in and out, one or two plant based ice cream options, plant based milk (I don’t buy it from them anymore because they only have one unsweetened option and it was spoiled upon opening the past few times I bought it….also they do have coconut milk but not the canned kind, which I think is what you were looking for), and I think that’s it. Many of these items have only just been added within the past year or two though. I go to Aldi mainly for their produce because most of it is less expensive during the colder seasons; in the summer I pretty much shop exclusively at Giant Eagle because their produce becomes the same price as Aldi because they’re able to locally source most of it during that time. Aldi needs to do better with locally sourcing when they can/should. They have gotten better over the years, but they definitely have their set suppliers and don’t veer away from them as much as they can/should during the summer when it makes sense to locally source a significant amount of their perishable foods.
Also, as you experienced, it’s pretty much impossible to find everything you need at Aldi. I almost always end up needing to go to Giant Eagle after I take a trip to Aldi.
omg I just found a Giant Eagle on our road trip and I loved them! It's a shame Aldi doesn't always have everything for everyone
Aldi in the UK has a lot of vegan options, including vegan cheese and vegan icecream! I'm shocked that even though the UK and US both have Aldi Sud (south), they stock completely different options !
it's so weird for sure!
My roomate loves aldi, good prices for us and near our school, they have a good oat milk at ours!
they do have good prices!
Trader Joe's not my fave but you should try next
Trader Joes is owned by the owner of Aldi Nord. But the Aldi stores you see in the US are owned by Aldi Süd.
I'm scared to do TJs but I must
@@JainMonroe woah!
Do Target next!! I did a research project on Target's Sustainability initiatives and I'd love to see what you think about it!
hmmmm interesting! I will have to try to find one around here but my gut says greenwashing
Mochi is irritated by the whole Aldi thing as well!
100% hahahaha
I’m thinking maybe they were just out of what you wanted because most Aldi has almond milk, they have everything you need to make your own hummus. The signs you complained about is literally 1 aisle.
I don't like homemade hummus ! but potentially out of stock. The signs I complained about were NOT aisle one and this has been a common critique of other environmentalists. It's okay to critique a business!
We have almond milk, oat milk and soy milk at Aldi here in northern New York
oh good!
My ALDIs has the best vegan options. Lots of ice creams and chocolate and milks and yogurts. Love their dried meatless crumbles. Very convenient. It probably varies a lot by location
wow nice!
Do you want some more Australian trivia?
Here goes anyway. Over 270 Aldi stores in Australia have solar panels. Sadly, 274 is not enough half of the almost 600 Aldi' here.
It may not solve all their problems but compared to other supermarkets here, they're better than the others for being environmentally friendly.
I love trivia haha thanks! That's a much better percentage than the US but always room for improvement!
Thank you. I also really love your videos
aww thanks so much!
Our Aldi has almond milk and oat milk. They also have dairy-free spray whipped cream I do see some vegan options in hours I think they're more seasonal. You may want to look at another Aldi and then make your final decision because it seems like you're already doesn't have everything that most stores in my area do
must depend on location!
Yay top 13 and top 6 likes and comments. Thanks for making this video.
Clicked on video at 10:06 a.m., Wednesday April 24th, 2024. Watching from Maryland
WOOHOO! Thank you :)
My aldi has 2 or 3 vegan things like vegan shredded cheese or vegan nuggets. The best things they have is the dessert hummus. The cookie dough hummus one is so good. But they don't always have it.
oh nice! that's a shame
I agree that their website sounded quite greenwashy. Aldi is the only store you've covered so far that we also have here in the UK but I can't compare the shopping experience as I've never actually shopped at Aldi. I am super surprised that they didn't have any vegan options or dairy free milk! Again I have never shopped there, but I feel it would be very unlikely for any supermarket here (or even a small corner shop) to not have at least some vegan options. I just looked up their UK website and it seems they do carry a fair number of vegan options. Do you think the lack of vegan options was something particular to the store you visited or representative of Aldi in the US more generally?
their website is SO weird like I don't think they're greenwashing but why is their website worded like that??? I think the lack of vegan options was definitely this location since I was in the middle of cornfield ohio haha
I went to aldi with my sister in January and found oat milk creamer. It tasted very gross. That’s my problem with Aldi, everything that is processed and not straight-up produce tastes kind of nasty.
hmm weird. I only got whole foods so I can't attest to that
Seems like they are making an effort. Would like to see Trader Joes or Shaws. thanks
seems like TJs is a popular option! I'll look into it!
Hold up they didn’t have almond milk at ur Aldi? Their almond milk is my favorite! I also love their hummus
turns out this location sucked haha
That's a shame, in the UK they have a very good selection for vegetarians and vegans
man wish I had that!
Aldi became my number 1 supermarket to go to, just because one thing, one thing only, their silence, they don't have any music in store, they don't advertise anything, I just go there every single time, because of that! Here in Portugal, they did a big change in layout, usually the fresh produce, like fruits, vegetables, lettuces, that sort of stuff, usually you would find them in the other corner/end of the store, and they brought everything right where you enter the supermarket, here in Portugal, you have almost every produce is package free, you don't have those net bag of produce, if you want a potato, you can buy it separately, but I think that's because the EU has some very strong rules about packaged produce, so they only allow produce to be packaged, the ones, that are fragile, and they know that will lose quality really fast, when they are manipulated, like lettuces, and some sort of species of kale, can people act like animals and they don't know how to manipulate stuff, I work in the biggest chain of supermarkets in Portugal, I know what I'm talking about.
omg that's a great point! I didn't even realize how not overstimulated I was until you mentioned this.
Love your scrunchie! 🍉❤️
yayyyy thank you! Free Palestine always!
Hmm, I wonder if their 170 stores with solar panels are in states that gave them big $ rebates? PS: we don’t have Aldis here, but have Trader Joe’s, which plastic wraps almost everything. I’ve kept a spreadsheet on the basic foods I buy when traveling so I can sort out the unit pricing. For a small store I usually can find what I need.
woah good thinking! Ugh TJ's is lowkey the worst but I'm afriad to spill the tea cause of their die hard fans haha
@@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist well, depends on where you are… around here Safeway is kind of like you generally ok big grocery (you can get a lot of single carrots or avocados or tomatoes or other vegetables, but apparently the ones in Oregon are owned by someone different and the quality of veggies really sucked in the one I visited that I did the rest of the shopping at TJ’s.
@@karinhart489 makes sense
Do Trader Joe's! I know half of their produce is in plastic wrap, but wondering about the other factors.
Trader Joes is owned by the owner of Aldi Nord. But the Aldi stores you see in the US are owned by Aldi Süd.
@@JainMonroe Wow, interesting! I heard it got started as a California company. The two stores look very different here in the US (We have the first "Aldi" branded store here in my town, and it is set up completely different than all the Trader Joe's I've been in).
definitely doing it next!
We have a lidls that does more plant based.
nice!
Aldi is walking distance from my house, Lidl is biking distance. However, Lidl has more package free fruit and veg and a much wider range of organic food. All Lidl locations here (NL) are solar powered. Not a fan of Aldi.
ohhh i see! cool that they are both so close!
No bloops!??!?
omg thanks for noticing! I guess i didn't mess up this day hahaha
Awesome stuff Emma, thanks for the info! 😃👍🏼👊🏼 ... I get what you're saying about wanting the convenience of a one stop shopping experience, but that's almost always never going to be the case, especially if you're shopping sale items and utilizing coupons which is even more important in this economy. Like you pointed out, Aldi is good for some staples and I add maybe a handful of other items specific to each individual, but you're definitely not getting everything there or any other store for that matter, there's some things I'll only get at Aldi because it's less expensive, but I also shop at two other grocery stores, and a wholesale club...... I might have mentioned it in a previous comment on another video, but if I didn't, I just wanted to mention that I use bagpodz and recommend them to anyone looking for quality reusable shopping bags.... Also, in the Aldi by me the people are always eating grapes out of the bags on the shelf, so annoying! make sure to grab a bag from way in the back!
no...it's ALWAYS been the case for me at Kroger, Meijer, Sprouts, Albertson's. I can get all my stuff there, even pet food and litter! But Aldi DOES get it right in the staples department that's for sure.
@@TheSimpleEnvironmentalist It's great that you have all of those stores near you, and that you can get everything you need in any one of them, but is it always for the best price? Do all of those stores (if they carry all of the same items) have everything priced exactly the same as one another? Do they all run the same sales and offer the same coupons at the same time every time?... I don't have any of those chains in my area, I have Stop & Shop and Key Food, and I can get everything at either one, but It won't always be at the best prices, E.g. Key Food has a quart of Land O'Lakes half and half for $5.99 and Stop & Shop has it for $4.49, but if I go to the wholesale club (BJ's) I can get it for it for $2.99 and they frequently have a $1 off coupon when you buy two, at least if I go to BJ's I pass two Stop & Shops and an Aldi on the way home, and Key Food is four blocks from my house in the opposite direction, I work relatively close to where BJ's is (one exit past work) and one of the Stop & Shops is right at the highway exit where I get on to go home, so at least as far as gas is concerned, I'm not really burning much, or any extra most of the time. I think shopping habits are definitely, at least in part affected by location, I don't know where Kroger, Meijer, Sprouts, Albertson's, or Aldi are located in correlation to your location, but In my case I pass multiple stores every day traveling between home and work, additionally I think shopping, especially out of the bounds of the day to day can be circumstantial, like how you only needed one potato or didn't need a whole bag of lemons, but if you needed to make mashed potatoes for a large gathering, or wanted to make homemade lemonade (not that you specifically want/need to, and without knowing your/anyone else's location in correlation to stores) one may opt to go to Aldi because a bag of potatoes and a bag of lemons may cost less than whatever other stores in the area are selling similarly weighted items for, another example of circumstances in my case (before the cat died) by weight I was typically able to get a better price on cat litter at BJ's, but my cat didn't like any of the brands/types of litter that they sold, I would get the litter that she liked at Stop & Shop, but I would try to only buy it and stock up when it was on sale, but sometimes it wasn't and sometimes they were out of it, Key Food regularly stocks a brand that's similar enough, so I would sometimes have to get it there ( I'd stock up when they had sales too) ... I guess what I'm getting at, and the point of all of my rambling is that though it's definitely convenient and potentially less wasteful to get everything all in one place, those dollar amounts are representations of the energy that we've expended through work, so saving money on what we buy is being energy efficient and sustainable, however, if you had to drive out of your way to go to multiple stores (which I don't) the fule to cost savings ratio may impact the overall benefits.
I think the particular store you went to was a dud. I have found plently of plant based and vegan options at my aldi when i lived close to one. Their soy, almond, and rice milks are delicious😋
partially a dud but I did notice similar themes to another Aldi I tried nearer a big city
Thank you for your work. #SaveSoil #Consciousplanet.
thank you for your continued support!
You found tofu at Aldi?
I went there once and was disappointed I couldn't find tofu, olive oil, or cream cheese
no I said NO tofu which was a big shame!
I'm in England and our aldi sells everything. And can get loose items😊
sounds like a US problem once again...that's great for you!
My aldi is smaller yhan most and they have vegan options. I buy oatmilk in the carton there. I also like most of the aldi brand snacks. Thry seem to be made from more food and less "filler garbage". You should look into the company who gives a crap. And see if they are as sustainable as they claim.
great to hear!
Yeah, Aldi׳s are far from being zero waste store, most of their veggies are packed, I never buy from them for that reason
yup same
❤
THANK YOU!
Aldi is a cheap place to by grocery. They founded in Germany over 60 years ago. In Germany the already have more vegan options, more diffrent kinds of milk. Aldi is watching the market with their selling and chance over time.... slowly but steady. In the USA less people are vegetarian or vegan, so there is probably more milk and meat. Best wishes from Germany ❤
I love them!
This was very thorough! Thanks for your informative review. I haven't been to Aldi yet, but I see that the closest one here in Northeast Ohio does carry soy milk, so I may give it a try. Did not like seeing that most of their produce is in plastic.
it's not a perfect store but I love a family-owned biz!