Trader Joe's

Trader Joe's is a noble grocery store that was founded in 1958 in Pasadena, California by Joe Coulombe. It has been ranked as one of the world's most ethical companies. [1]

Social Responsibility
As stated above, Trader Joe's has been ranked several times as one of the world's most ethical companies. Trader Joe's is responsible in properly labeling their products. All products branded as "Trader Joe's" contain no artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives, no genetically modified ingredients, no MSG, and no added trans fats. [2] About 80% of products sold at Trader Joe's have the Trader Joe's brand name. Products are also properly indicated to show if they are vegan, vegetarian, kosher, etc.

Trader Joe's seems to also care about animal rights. Trader Joe's claims that its chicken is raised on family farms and is raised in spacious, houses and outdoor pens, where the chickens are free to roam. The chickens have a diet of vegetarian corn-and-soy-based feed, free of antibiotics and animal by-products. It also claims that sustainable farmind practices are used, avoiding the use of pesticides and herbicides and minimizing the use of natural resources. [3]

2012 Protests
There have been protests against Trader Joe's. The Coalition of Immokalee Workers held a protest against Trader Joes' produce purchasing policies. It claims that Trader Joe's buys tomatoes from producers that pay their workers unfair wages in bad working conditions.[4] There was another protest that was part of the Occupy movement, out of concern of there being genetically modified organisms used in their products.[5]  Trader Joe's denies this, stating that their products do not contain GMOs. However, GMOs are not necessarily a bad thing. These things are also not necessarily the fault of the magagement of Trader Joe's. Even if there are a few flaws with Trader Joe's, it is still vastly superior in ethics than most companies.