Thanksgiving isn’t the most environmentally friendly holiday. A 16-pound turkey generates a carbon footprint of 34.2 pounds of CO2, according to Carnegie Mellon researchers in 2016. (For context, burning one gallon of gasoline creates roughly 20 pounds of CO2.)

But the rise of the “conscious consumer” looking for a more sustainable feast this year provided an opportunity for Cream Co. Meats: The California–based company rolled out its first regenerative turkey online this month.

• It partnered with PT Ranch, an Ecological Outcome Verified (EOV) Ranch, on the bird.
• Customers in six West Coast states were able to place online orders, which were shipped out last week.

Regener-huh? Regenerative agriculture, a growing trend in the industry, aims to make food systems more sustainable by taking into account things like biodiversity, water cycles, and climate-change resilience when farming. Companies like Hormel Foods, Danone North America, and even PepsiCo​ are devoting money and land to the practice, especially as shopper sentiments shift.

• A 2020 IBM study shows that 44% of consumers are “purpose-driven” when they buy groceries, meaning they want their food to align with their values.

It doesn’t come cheap—for the consumers (who know the term) or companies.

“Obviously people pay more for organic. I think with regenerative, consumers may not be aware of what that means,” Kearney’s Corey Chafin said. “It’s not as common a phrase. It doesn’t have much consistency in definitions.”

All the trimmings: Cream Co.’s regenerative turkeys start at $99, about the same price as one that’s free-range. Traditional turkeys, meanwhile, will run the average consumer $23.99 for a 16-pound bird, up 24% from 2020.

• This year’s average cost of a Thanksgiving dinner for 10 is coming in at $53.31, up 14% from last year and the highest it’s been since the Farm Bureau started tracking prices in 1986.

Cliff Pollard, who founded the regenerative meat processor and distributor in 2016, is counting on eco-friendly customers already paying a premium for a special, high-quality meal.

“It’s addressing the consumer that wants to make a difference with what they eat, that wants what they eat to have a healthy impact on themselves from a nutritional point of view, but also from the climate and ecological point,” he told us.

Click here to read more about Cream Co. and what comes next.—JG

Walmart is flying high: After formalizing its partnership with drone company Zipline for health and wellness deliveries on Friday, the retail giant today said it’s pushing ahead with DroneUp, another startup, on more aerial home deliveries.

• Walmart made a strategic investment in DroneUp earlier this year.

Where it’s at: The DroneUp delivery service will operate across three Walmart hubs in Northwest Arkansas, with the first already in business (and doing drop-offs).

• Open daily from 8am–8pm, deliveries can be made in as quickly as 30 minutes. Though they are currently limited to one nautical mile from the Walmart Neighborhood Market base in Farmington.

“When we invested in DroneUp earlier this year, we envisioned a drone delivery operation that could be quickly executed and replicated across multiple stores,” Tom Ward, SVP of last-mile at Walmart US, said in a statement.

• In addition to Zipline and DroneUp, Walmart’s been working with Flytrex on drone drop-offs—alongside robo-delivery services as well.

Real talk: Walmart’s not alone in testing new delivery waters. Amazon is also prepping its own service, called Prime Air.

• Drone deliveries are predicted to become a $115 billion industry by 2035, per Deloitte.

While billed as potential alternatives to deliver small household goods or medicine in remote locations, drones still face challenges. The US airspace is complex, Zipline CTO and cofounder Keenan Wyrobek said to Emerging Tech Brew, making expansion difficult. Plus, there are practical impediments, such as navigating things like power lines, John Harmon, senior analyst at Coresight Research, told Retail Brew in an email.

• “Can [the drones] recover if they get snagged on a power line? They would require detailed 3D maps, which will need to be created,” he noted.—JS

The returns are coming. This holiday season, 61% of retailers expect return rates of 11% or higher compared to 2020, according to a survey from data platform Inmar Intelligence.

Some are more prepared than others to deal with the headwinds. (Consider, too, that only about half—52%—of respondents believe they’ll be able to meet demand this year.)

• 66% of retailers offer at least one or two updates on returns for customers.
• 58% said they accept online returns in store or offer some sort of instant credit.

What’s in store: The in-person return offering is critical to minimize friction and costs, both for the retailer and customer, David Sobie, VP of return logistics company Happy Returns, previously explained to Retail Brew.

“It is pretty well documented that if a shopper has a bad return experience, they’re definitely very unlikely to shop with that merchant again. The cost of getting it wrong is really high, and the value of getting it right is very high,” Sobie said.—KM

Today’s top retail reads.

Deal with it: Shoppers have been urged to shop early this holiday season—and that means fewer discounts. “The pitch on Black Friday is we’ve got it, not we’ve got it cheaper,” said Jay Foreman, the CEO of toymaker Basic Fun. (Forbes)

Pack up: From dropping off a delivery in 90 seconds to maneuvering mockup neighborhoods, inside UPS’s weeklong boot camp to train its drivers. (CNBC)

By design: Balenciaga kicked off its first-ever event in mainland China; CEO Cédric Charbit spells out why now is the right time. (WWD)

At the mall, it’s where band tees are the only tees. In Retail Brew, it’s where we invite readers to weigh in on a trending retail topic.

We know these are the results you’ve been waiting for. Coming off a packed week of earnings—from Walmart and Target to Home Depot and Lowe’s to TJX and Ross Stores—we asked which category would emerge the winner.

You said: More than half (53%) were sure it was big box. Meanwhile, just over a quarter (26.5%) thought the home-improvement category would come out on top, and 20.5% felt good about off-price.

Next question: Stay tuned for a special Hot Topic next week to help us put the year in perspective.

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