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Costco Wholesale’s unique member warehouse club model attracts customers in hundreds of stores across fourteen countries. Costco has high standards for its suppliers and is increasingly focused on sustainability.

Our guide is here to help set your brand up for success when working with Costco. In this guide, you’ll find an overview of Costco’s sustainable packaging requirements, overall impact goals, inspiration for updating your packaging, and more.

For individual guidance about creating sustainable packaging that stands out at Costco, contact us, and we’ll be happy to help.

Table of Contents

• At a Glance: Costco's Sustainability Goals
• About Costco
• Deeper Dive: Costco's Sustainability Goals and Commitments
• Packaging Requirements for Costco Suppliers
• Frequently Asked Questions About Costco
• How EcoEnclose Helps Brands Working With Costco
• Additional Resources

Costco is working to reduce packaging and food waste, improve energy efficiency, and engage its suppliers in sustainability efforts. One element of their overall impact goals is to improve the sustainability of packaging sold in Costco stores. 

Costco’s Six Rights of Sustainable Packaging are: 

• The Right Reduction

• The Right Amount of Post-Consumer Recycled Content

• The Right Fiber: Tree-Free or Certified Forest Content

• The Right Recyclable Packaging

• The Right Certified Compostable Packaging

• The Right Labeling 

As Costco continues prioritizing suppliers working toward sustainability, your brand can stand out by implementing these standards in your packaging.

EcoEnclose is well-positioned to help brands assess and update their packaging to meet Costco’s vendor requirements and sustainability goals. Reach out to us if you’d like support to:

• Using Efficient Packaging Design

• Choosing Tree-Free or Sustainable Fibers

• Maximizing Recycled and Recyclable Content

• Designing Bulk Packaging

• Implementing How2Recycle® Labeling

Costco Wholesale is an established global retailer that uses a members-only warehouse club model to attract customers. The company currently operates nearly 900 stores in 14 countries.

Stores often feature regional products, particularly in international locations. Other staple brands, such as Costco’s owned “Kirkland Signature” line, can be found in all locations. 

Costco warehouses carry a wide variety of products across a range of categories, including: 

• Fresh groceries
• Packaged food
• Supplements
• Beauty products
• Pet products
• Home goods
• Apparel
• Automotive supplies
• And more

Costco often sells products in bulk quantities or larger packaging sizes than conventional grocery stores and uses free samples and in-store demonstrations to encourage customers to try new products. 

Selling products at Costco can give your brand a channel to reach customers across the United States and worldwide. If you are working with Costco or aiming to do so, keep reading for tips on designing packaging that can help you land the deal and elevate your shelf presence and promotion with the retailer.

Costco’s sustainability goals reflect its commitment to “doing their part to avoid catastrophic climate change in partnership with their global stakeholders.”

In addition to climate-related goals, Costco is also working to improve its impact in areas like: 

• Diversity and inclusion in the workplace

• Responsible governance and reporting

• Higher animal welfare standards

• Ethical sourcing practices

• Community engagement

• Lower-waste building practices 

Costco’s Climate Action Plan includes efforts across the company. Their three guiding principles are: 

1. For Costco to thrive, the world must thrive — we are committed to doing our part.

2. We focus on issues related to our business and where we can contribute to real, results-driven positive impact.

3. We do not have all the answers; we learn as we go and seek continuous improvement. 

Costco first released its Sustainability Commitment in 2018, with updated versions over the next six years. Their 2023 Sustainability Commitment represents the company’s current goals and vision. 

Another key impact target for Costco is to engage suppliers in creating more responsible, sustainable, and ethical supply chains. In 2022, they surveyed their top 500 US suppliers to find improvement areas and are engaging in the following efforts:

In their Vendor Code of Conduct, Costco states that:

“In manufacturing and processing operations, adverse impacts upon the community, environment and natural resources shall be minimized while safeguarding the health and safety of the public. . . . Recycling is strongly encouraged.”

Recently, Costco has begun encouraging suppliers to participate in THESIS, an assessment system developed by The Sustainability Consortium. This program helps suppliers and retailers to:

• Assess current strengths and weaknesses in supply chains

• Identify areas for improvement

• Create benchmarks and measure progress

• Align with trusted certifications, standards, and tools

• Capture and use global sustainability data

• Implement data-backed decision-making

• Improve overall supply chain and company sustainability

Costco also works to use more responsible materials and reduce reliance on resource-intensive packaging in both their owned products and supplier brands. For more information about their packaging initiatives, continue to the next section.

Costco has published Six Rights of Packaging Sustainability. The company applies these guidelines to its owned and partner brands. Following these guidelines can help your brand land a deal with Costco and stand out to eco-conscious Costco customers.

To continuously improve how Costco and its supplier brands manufacture and dispose of packaging, the company works with various industry partners in the countries where they operate.

One goal of these partnerships is to understand local needs and infrastructure. Some of their recent efforts in these partnerships include expanding How2Recycle® labeling in their US and Canadian Kirkland Signature lines and improving clear end-of-life labeling in Mexico Costco stores.

Labeling plan for Costco Mexico. Source: Costco

In addition to working to comply with Costco’s sustainable packaging guidelines, we encourage brands to consider:

• Maximizing recycled content across all materials, especially post-consumer content

• Choosing responsibly sourced and/or certified Virgin inputs when required

• Designing for ready recyclability, including curbside and thin film packaging

• Avoiding “compostable” plastic packaging that is rarely environmentally preferable

• Evaluating opportunities for reusable packaging thoughtfully

• Reducing waste through swaps like zero waste label release liners

• Piloting innovative materials like Black Algae Ink or Seaweed Film Windows

Rather than implementing stringent or specific requirements, Costco has six principles they use to guide more sustainable packaging decisions:

• The Right Reduction

• The Right Amount of Post-Consumer Recycled Content

• The Right Fiber: Tree-Free or Certified Forest Content

• The Right Recyclable Packaging

• The Right Certified Compostable Packaging

• The Right Labeling

Costco uses these guidelines in their Kirkland Signature Brand and encourages suppliers to implement them in their packaging wherever possible.

Costco’s Restricted Substance List includes materials like PFAS, formaldehyde, and heavy metals. They use a Smart Screening Program to test incoming products and update their chemical lists regularly. However, unlike some other retailers, they have no current bans on specific packaging materials such as Styrofoam, PVC, etc.

In most cases, Costco does not require certifications to sell in their warehouses. However, they do name several certifications that they look for in suppliers, including: 

• How2Recycle® Labeling to help customers dispose of packaging responsibly

• FSC, SFI, or PEFC certifications for paper products, with a preference for FSC

• Bee Better Certification for pollinator and biodiversity conservation

• BLUESIGN® or OEKO-TEX® certification for safer textiles 

One required certification is for products containing down and feather products. Costco accepts certifications from International Down and Feather Lab (IDFL), Downpass, or Responsible Down Standard (RDS).

Because of its unique selling model, Costco’s packaging standards differ from those of other retailers like Amazon or Walmart. Some of these requirements include:

• Display-ready packaging: Packaging must be ready to go on shelves without additional preparation by Costco employees.

• ISTA testing: Packaging must pass ISTA pre-shipment tests.

• Pallet size: Costco currently requires pallets to measure 48 x 40 inches.

• Optimized for Costco shelves: Some products, such as eye cream or beauty products, must include a larger over-package to fit on Costco shelves and reduce costs.

As part of the buyer approval process, Costco assesses new retailer packaging before products can be sold in-store.

Costco requires prospective vendors to submit inquiries with different contacts for food and non-food items. They have US offices in multiple locations and international offices in Canada, Mexico, Korea, China, Taiwan, Japan, Australia, France, and Spain. To get started, visit their vendor inquiry page to find the correct contact.

Are you currently working with Costco or looking to have your brand carried in their stores?

EcoEnclose is ready to help you develop packaging solutions that fit Costco’s unique selling format, align with sustainability standards, and help you put your best foot forward.

Here are specific ways we’ve helped supplier brands for Costco:

Efficient Packaging Design

One of Costco’s goals is to reduce the overall packaging needed. EcoEnclose works with your brand and analyzes your product line to find areas where you can reduce packaging waste and choose the best size, shape, and type.

Choosing Tree-Free or Sustainable Fibers

Costco encourages the use of certified, sustainable paper and fiber products. EcoEnclose helps your brand find paper-based solutions that meet your needs while meeting Costco’s sustainability requirements.

Maximize Recycled and Recyclable Content

Recycling is a high priority for Costco. EcoEnclose helps assess your current packaging to find areas where you can maximize the amount of recycled content and design packaging for easy recycling.

Bulk Packaging Design

Costco’s warehouses often sell products in bulk or larger sizes than conventional retailers. EcoEnclose can help you ensure your packaging is well-suited to this format and appeals to Costco’s value-focused customers.

How2Recycle® Labeling

Costco encourages clear labeling to help their members understand how to dispose of packaging afterward. EcoEnclose helps brands navigate the How2Recycle® request and labeling process.

Custom Branding

Our team can help you develop or refresh your packaging branding and design to stand out to Costco customers on shelves and online.

Our unique Sustainable Packaging Framework helps streamline decision-making, and our rigorous standards for all products ensure your packaging meets and exceeds the sustainability standards set by Costco. We leverage our experience working with hundreds of brands, from the smallest startups to the most robust enterprise brands, to help you create a working packaging strategy.

To get started, request free samples, explore our extensive resource library, or get in touch for a free consultation.

• Costco Sustainability Introduction
• Costco Sustainable Packaging Commitment
• Costco Packaging FAQs
• Costco Resource Use Commitment
• Costco Supplier Code of Conduct
• Costco Climate Action Plan
• Costco Vendor Inquiry Page
• Costco 2023 Sustainability Highlights Report

EcoEnclose is the leading sustainable packaging company that provides eco-packaging solutions to the world’s most forward-thinking brands.

We develop diverse, sustainable packaging solutions that meet our rigorous research-based standards and customers’ goals. We drive innovative packaging materials to market and consistently improve the circularity of existing solutions.