Next time you're in the store, look up! Those square lights in the ceiling are not flourescent lights. You're being bathed in sunlight while you shop! To find out more about daylight harvesting, visit the link to the right.
Rainbow's ecological needs are met by an annually elected committee
of workers who manage our extensive in-store recycling and composting.
In addition, they serve as an educational resource for workers,
buyers and customers, as well as actively seeking out out ways for
Rainbow to remain true to its Mission. But aside from that, other
workers continue to uphold our ecological mission, whether through
buyer purchasing, policy-making, in-store maintenance or every day
operational decisions.
Other ecological projects have included:
Researching ways to reduce our energy usage which has resulted in the installation of metal-halide lights rather than the less-efficient fluorescent lights.
Replacement of our roof with a more energy efficient roofing system.
Installation of a new Daylight Harvesting system which will practically eliminate our need to use electricity to light the store during the day.
Installation of solar panels for electrical usage and hot water heating.
Installation of energy-efficient compressors for our many coolers.
Sponsorship of a family of rescued factory-farmed animals at Farm Sanctuary, an animal shelter and vegan farm in Orland, CA.
Continual maintenance of our Native Plant Garden at the 13th Street entrance as well as the trees surrounding our building.
Daily Ecological Practices at Rainbow
We provide recycling for both customers and workers.
We recycle as much paper, plastic and glass as
possible.
Our special baler compresses boxes which are then
picked up by local recyclers.
Battery disposal is available for customers.
We compost produce scraps and kitchen scraps,
both for Sunset Scavenger and for our own garden.
