Thrive Market, the 9-year-old membership-based e-commerce site that sells natural and organic food, household products, and beauty items, has hit many sustainability milestones:

• It is B Corp certified, meaning the nonprofit network B Lab deemed them as progressing toward an “inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economy.”
• All three of its fulfillment centers are Zero Waste-certified by Green Business Certification Inc., in recognition of its waste-management and reduction practices.
• It has been carbon-neutral since 2014 and is committed to becoming carbon-negative by 2025.

To reach these milestones and more, some of Thrive Market’s efforts have been bold, obsessive even. Here are five examples.

1. The company avoids Bubble Wrap because it thinks it’s “kryptonite.”

It may be fun to pop, but Bubble Wrap is a big part of what WWD calls the industry’s “plastic problem,” since “retail is littered with plastic: polybags, pallet wraps, films, mailers, hangers, bags, tags and more.”

CEO Nick Green told Retail Brew in 2022 that “Bubble Wrap is…like our kryptonite,” since the online supermarket strives to avoid plastic packaging material.

As an alternative, the company wraps perishable products in a honeycombed die-cut paper called Geami WrapPak.

2. They subjected everything they sell to drop tests.

Rule No. 1 at fulfillment centers is to handle and pack products carefully and—we’re looking at you, butterfingers—not drop anything.

But in late 2022, in Thrive’s Batesville, Indiana, fulfillment center, dropping products was not an accident; it was the point.

Keep reading here.—AAN

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Remember when David’s Bridal declared bankruptcy (for the second time) back in April? Well, the retailer’s sale to Cion Investment Corp. was approved last Friday by a New Jersey court.

The no-cash transaction between David’s Bridal and Cion comes after months of speculation that David’s Bridal might shutter all its stores, but the new arrangement allows the retailer to keep 195 stores open.

It will also retain 7,000 of its 10,000 employees, after the company had previously announced it was laying off 9,236.

But let’s go back a second: David’s Bridal’s second go-round with bankruptcy comes after emerging from its first Chapter 11 in 2019. The retailer restructured its debt and has since tried to modernize its marketing and retail strategies.

It introduced a quinceañera line in 2021 as part of an effort to update its business. But where it seemed to have faltered was in appealing to a younger generation of consumers, especially post-pandemic, who sought experiences over possessions and are increasingly turning toward alternative wedding attire and the secondhand market.

Keep reading here.—JS

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Since Emerald Holding, owner of gift and home trade show NY Now, acquired wholesale marketplace Bulletin last year, Alana Branston, co-founder of Bulletin and now CEO and group VP of NY Now and Bulletin, has been focused on bringing these two businesses together.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in retail? I’m primarily focused right now on integrating these two very different businesses. My role is all about creating and implementing a strategy that unites these two businesses in a way that ultimately helps our customers, i.e. our growing network of small business owners. I’m leading our team through this integration, where we’re all focused on using Bulletin’s technology to power NY Now, the in-person event.

One thing we can’t guess about your job from your LinkedIn profile? Even though we’ve been acquired by Emerald and we’ve integrated teams, I still run Bulletin and work very hands-on with the Bulletin team day to day. With certain acquisitions, they kind of absorb your startup or business, but in our case, Bulletin still exists as a standalone marketplace in addition to supporting NY Now.

What’s your favorite project you’ve worked on? Last show, when we staged NY Now in February, we launched this new initiative and section of the show called The Bulletin Incubator.

Keep reading here.—EC

Today’s top retail reads.

Chilling effect: With frozen food sales surging, cold storage supply chains need to step up. (CNBC)

Air of mystery: A new designer boutique in New York City is looking to combat the many competitive e-commerce markdowns in fashion by offering mystery boxes of overstocked or end-of-season items at a lower cost. (GQ)

Cashing in your chips: Inside Chipotle’s latest efforts to expand its reach, including a push into small-town America and its first international franchising deal. (the Wall Street Journal)

Game plan: You’ve got your goals—now you just need to know how to execute them. The Brew’s Strategic Planning sprint can help you build the road map and get your team on board. Sign up now.