From
the Nature Conservancy magazine:
In a groundbreaking partnership, the Nature Conservancy helped Meijer select 119 trees, shrubs and perennials that will carry a new "Recommended Non-Invasive" tag, along with the Conservancy's logo. The stores will also remove two invasives from their inventories: the Norway maple and Lombardy poplar.
In Florida, the Conservancy and the Southeast and Florida Exotic Pest Plant councils also have partnered with the Lowe's chain, which has agreed not to sell 45 species of invasive plants in their garden centers in that state.
Reducing sales of invasives could make a big difference in slowing their spread. Invasives cause an estimated $20 billion in damage each year. "Approximately 60 percent of invasive plant species in many areas have come from intentional plantings, such as in people's gardens or from public works projects," says Valerie Vartanian, of the Conservancy's Global Invasive Species Initiative.