We know we’ve always been a little out of the ordinary. Those 19 people who started our first store were quite an idealistic bunch!

Early on, we adopted a set of core values to guide our purpose:

Selling the highest quality natural and organic products available
Satisfying and delighting our customers
Supporting team member happiness and excellence
Creating wealth through profits & growth
Caring about our communities & our environment
Creating ongoing win-win partnerships with our suppliers.
We now number over 50,000 team members and are glad to report that our idealism and commitment to our core values are as strong as ever. (Sit in on a meeting and you’ll hear team members asking questions like “How does that action support our Core Values?” It’s a tough crowd!)

Yes, we are a publicly held company and have to make a profit to survive in the marketplace. But we’ve proven that a company can do good and do well if the doing comes from the heart. Luckily, our success helps us bring about change in the marketplace, which we hope will lead to good things for you and us and the planet.