• October 15, 2007

Its critics may accuse Wal-Mart of being the environmental enemy, but the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer turns out to be tops with organic consumers.

A new study from Scarborough Research, which reports that 17% of all U.S. adults have used organic foods in their homes within the past month, reports that 29% of those organic aficionados have shopped at a Wal-Mart Super Center within the past week, making it the leading supermarket among these consumers.

Still, Whole Foods Markets have a special appeal to organic shoppers: Organic food consumers are 272% more likely than the average consumer to have shopped there in the past week. And those fans of Whole Foods are 21% less likely than the average consumer to have been to a Wal-Mart recently.

Other retailers that rank higher than average are Trader Joe's (organics consumers are 180% more likely than the average consumer to have shopped Trader Joe's during the past week); Safeway (72% more likely); Costco (70% more likely); and SuperTarget (50% more likely).

Organic consumers tend to be younger and more affluent. They are also more likely to have kids, and spend more on their weekly groceries: On average, they fork out about $127 per week on groceries--10% more than the national average of $115.

They're also more likely to live in the West. San Francisco has the highest percentage of organic consumers, with 35% of its adults having used organic foods during the past month. Seattle (32%) comes in second, followed by Portland, Ore., (27%), Washington D.C. and Denver (tied with 26%) and San Diego (24%).

--Sarah Mahoney