「媽媽，媽媽，T.J. 回信了！」

放學時姊姊一坐上車就迫不及待，興奮的告訴我。

「蛤? 」我完全没進入狀況。

原來，姊姊幾天前提到她想發一封電郵給她每星期都固定去報到的一家超商T.J.，没想到她真的寫了! 這家全國連鎖超商T.J.是以不經過中盤商，食品新鮮而獨特聞名。

以下是徵得姊姊同意，分享她發給超商的電郵和超商客服部的回應: (部分中文翻譯參考谷大仙）

Hi!

I am a long-time T.J. enthusiast and find joy in your products unattainable elsewhere. As a conscious consumer, however, the amount of disposable and plastic product packaging is alarming and disappointing. For instance, none of the dried fruit/nut plastic bags, individually packaged and some other produce, and frozen aisle items are environmentally friendly, just to name a few. The only seemingly waste-free product is from the coffee-bean grinding machines.

Please consider making small changes such as offering more loose produce or at making packaging reusable/biodegradable to increase customer satisfaction and well-being.

Thank you. 

中文翻譯:

嗨！ 我是一位T.J.長期以來的忠誠愛好者，在您們的產品中我所得到的樂趣是其他地方找不到的。 然而，作為一個具有（環保）意識的消費者，我對於您們超市所使用的一次性丢棄和塑料產品包裝的數量感到擔憂，也感到失望。 譬如，裝不同乾果和堅果的塑料袋，食品單獨的小包裝,和一些其他農產品以及冷凍產品的包裝，没有一種是對環境無害的，而以上只是舉幾個例子。 唯一看起來沒有產生垃圾的產品是磨豆咖啡。

懇請你們考慮做一些小小的改變，比如，提供更多散裝的產品，可以重複使用或可以生物分解的包裝，以提高客戶滿意度和福祉。 謝謝。

超商客服部的回應:

Hello, 

Thanks so much for this feedback; we have forwarded your comments to our Product Steering Committee for review.  

Heres the scoop, if I may: in regards to our packaging, we do wish to assure you that product packaging is certainly an area where we are always striving to improve. Although it is hard to strike the ideal balance to ensure we are minimizing food waste and environmental impacts while still delivering freshness; we are continuously looking for alternatives for our packaging, including corn-based, biodegradable, and non-oil based plastics.....the good news is, we are absolutely committed to acting responsibly in addressing this ongoing concern. So, thanks again for sharing your concern, and for being such a loyal T.J. customer.

Additionally, I would like to share with you some ways that T.J. has already moved towards being more green. Because our stores are small and have low ceilings, we use far less energy than larger grocery stores. We bale all paper and cardboard that comes into our stores, which is then recycled and used for our paper bags and Fearless Flyer! 80% of our perishable products are shipped in reusable totes, crates, and trays. Another fun fact, we donate all consumable, out of date products to neighborhood food banks- we have done so for over 35 years! We have had requests to offer bulk products, at this point we have yet to find a supplier and value that we feel reflects our values by offering superior quality with combined great value. However, this is on our radar.

Your note is a valued reminder to continue looking ahead!

中文翻譯:

您好! 

非常感謝您的這個回饋;我們已將您的意見轉發給我們的產品督導委員會進行審核。

如果可能的話，我想與您分享：關於我們的包裝，我們希望向您保證，產品包裝無疑是我們一直在努力改進的領域。雖然很難達到理想中的平衡，以確保我們在減少食物浪費和環境影響的同時保持新鮮度;我們一直在尋找我們包裝的替代品，包括以玉米為原料，可生物分解，和非油基的塑料.....好消息是，我們絕對承諾採取負責任的態度來解決這一持續的問題。所以，再次感謝您分享您的關注，以及成為忠誠的T.J.的客戶。

此外，我想與您分享一下T.J.已經走向更綠化的一些方式。由於我們的商店很小，天花板較低，我們使用的能源遠比大型超市少。我們將所有進入我們商店的紙張和紙板都捆包好，然後再回收並用於我們的紙袋和宣傳單！我們80％的易腐產品都裝在可重複使用的貨箱，板條箱和屜中。另一個有趣的事實是，我們捐贈了所有消費品和過時的產品到鄰近的食品銀行 - 我們已經這樣做了35年！我們也有收到提供大宗產品的要求，目前我們尚在尋找供應商和評估此舉所提供的價值，我們的價值是通過提供卓越的品質和超值的價格體現。然而，我們會持續關注這個議題。

您的意見是寶貴的提醒，提醒我們持續前瞻！

姊姊還告訴我，她也寫了電郵給本地一家年輕人常去的餐飲業者，建議他們考慮在菜單上提供更多全素（vegan）的選項。

我慶幸，從小對於姊姊口頭和書面溝通方式的訓練和鼓勵，讓她勇於表達自己的意見。

我佩服，姊姊對於環保議題的熱忱關懷與執著;

我感動，這家超商客服部的認真嚴謹與專業!