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REI reported a 9.3% jump in sales last year, when it launched a Black Friday campaign encouraging consumers to go outside rather than shop and closed its stores on the major shopping day. The outdoor retailer also grew its co-op membership by 7.3% in 2015, and now boasts more than 6 million members.

San Francisco just took a major step to save the environment. The city's Board of Supervisors unanimously passed an ordinance to ban the sale of polystyrene - more commonly known by its brand-name "styrofoam" - on Tuesday. It's the broadest ban on the product in the country, according to Mother Jones. "The science is clear," London Breed, Board of Supervisors president, said in a statement in April. "This stuff is an environmental and public health pollutant, and we have to reduce its use." Starting January 1, 2017, vendors will no longer be able to sell polystyrene products, from food packaging and coffee cups to packing peanuts and pool toys, according to Science Alert. And starting July 1, styrofoam fish and meat trays in supermarkets will also be banned.

New research documents that green products and meaningful brands deliver increased sales plus financial performance that outperforms the stock market.

Sales of organic produce have been steadily rising, and farmers worldwide have stepped up to provide a year-round supply of certified organic fruits and vegetables, experts say. Nearly all items in the produce section are available in organic, with prices fluctuating based on supply, says Claris Ritter of Alfalfa's Market in Colorado. "Price is really a function of supply, and we're still having greater demand than supply," Ritter said. "We'll have to see, if we ever do catch up to the demand, what happens with the price

Chick-fil-A announced this week that it will stop using meat from chickens raised with antibiotics within five years. The chain said consumer demands sparked the change; Chipotle and Panera Bread have taken similar measures recently. "This ... surfaced as the No. 1 issue for our customers," said Tim Tassopoulos, Chick-fil-A's executive vice president of operations.

Coca-Cola and its bottling partners are on track to meet their 2020 water replenishment goal by balancing an estimated 68 percent of the water used in their finished beverages based on 2013 sales volume. To date, the soft drink company has replenished an estimated 108.5 billion liters of water back to communities and nature through 509 community water projects in more than 100 countries

PepsiCo has set a goal that by 2020 all of its future point-of-sale equipment (coolers, vending machines and fountain dispensers) purchased in the US will be hydroflourocarbon-free.

Patagonia will offer 9 styles of Fair Trade Certified apparel in its fall 2014 lineup. As part of the effort, Patagonia will contribute a portion of revenues from sales of Fair Trade items to the Indian workers that produced them.

The goal of the U.S. Wildlife Trafficking Alliance is to raise awareness about wildlife trafficking and reduce Americans' demand for products that promote poaching. The Alliance also aims to give companies the tools they need to make sure they're not selling, shipping, or otherwise enabling the sales of illegal wildlife-related products.

Delta Airlines, United Airlines and American Airlines have all banned big-game trophies from their cargo holds after the public outcry regarding the illegal killing of Cecil, a beloved lion, at the hands of a Minnesota man. Hunting advocates say their pastime is needed to fund conservation in Africa and warn that the backlash could lead to a sharp reduction in lion populations. "Through the sales of hunting licenses, equipment, tags, and so on, sportsmen contribute $2.9 billion every year for conservation," according to Olivia Nalos Opre, co-host of a hunting-themed TV show. BBC (8/4), FoxNews.com (8/4) 

President Barack Obama moved Saturday to tighten U.S. rules on sales of ivory from African elephants, aiming to show progress on conservation as he began a trip to the region.

Fast food restaurant chain Wendy's is reportedly piloting the sale of chicken that does not contain antibiotics "medically important to humans" in select Missouri, Texas, and Florida markets, according to CNBC.

Conopco, a Unilever subsidiary and the consumer goods company's US business, has agreed to settle two cases and pay $362,500 for air pollution violations related to the sale of hair styling products in California.

It may not come as a complete surprise, but the U.S. Energy Information Administration has confirmed that California leads the country in electric vehicle adoption. However, all-electric (EV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) vehicles still represent a small percentage of new vehicle sales.

"Non-GMO" is one of the fastest-growing label trends on U.S. food packages, with sales of such items growing 28% last year to about $3 billion, according to market-research firm Nielsen. In a poll of nearly 1,200 U.S. consumers for The Wall Street Journal, Nielsen found that 61% of consumers had heard of GMOs and nearly half of those people said they avoid eating them. The biggest reason was because it "doesn't sound like something I should eat."

Mayor Bill de Blasio banned the possession, sale, or provision of polystyrene-based foam containers and loose fill packaging in New York City. The measure will go into effect on July 1, 2015.

President Obama signed a bill on Monday that will phase out the manufacturing of face wash, toothpaste and shampoo containing plastic microbeads by July 1, 2017, and the sale of such beauty products by July 1, 2018.

Clean energy has become a driving force in the US marketplace as costs have declined and major companies have unveiled investments in wind and other renewables, writes Chris Brown, Vestas' president of sales and service operations in the US and Canada. Wind, in particular, can provide the nation with a winning combination of affordable yet reliable electricity. "Whatever the courts rule on the CPP, there's no turning back or stopping this economic trend. Clean energy makes good sense for business, good sense for consumers, and good sense for the country," he writes.

This city known for its Hollywood glamour is set to become the latest to say fur doesn't fly. Without dissent, Los Angeles put itself on track to become the largest U.S. city to ban the sale of fur clothing and accessories after a unanimous vote of the city council Tuesday.