Like many people we know, we're trying to be more careful about what we buy at the grocery store. We want things that don't hurt the environment and don't hurt us—so we now buy Tom's of Maine toothpaste, Burt's Bees deodorant, etc. The question is, are we making the right choices?
We remember hearing the news that Burt's Bees had been bought by Clorox a few years back, but the products seemed to remain the same, so we kept buying it. But what about other brands that we trust? Tom's of Maine, Kashi, Naked Juice? Who owns them?
That's what Amanda Whitfill at Alternet.org set out to uncover last year. Her findings, while not shocking, were pretty eye-opening. Take a look and see who owns your favorite brand. Here are a few examples:
• Tom's of Maine is owned by Colgate-Palmolive.
• Pepsi bought Naked Juice in 2006 for $450 million.
• Kashi cereals, the favorites of millions of healthy breakfast eaters, was bought in July 2000 by Kellogg's.
Does it matter to you if the products you buy for their organic (or otherwise "healthy") ingredients are created by larger companies that also produce very environmentally-unfriendly products?
Read the whole story here.
(Image: Flickr member Mr. T in DC licensed for use under Creative Commons)
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Comments (5)
I think it's a matter of voting with your dollars. If, say Clorox notices that Burt's Bees is making a bundle and customer research says it's because it's a green brand, you can bet they'll start making more of the same. You can't avoid every major company in the world so do what you can. Write them letters, even. They do respond and take note.
Have to agree with Tiamat_the_Red on this one. Be informed and spend accordingly. Your consumer vote is the most effective one you have, especially when you let the companies know why you're spending (or especially why you're not spending). The market is so competitive in most areas that companies cannot afford to ignore consumers.
The problem is that a lot of these companies are socially irresponsible in many other ways. For instance, I believe that Colgate Palmolive still tests on animals. So, whether you want to buy from them depends on your level of comfort with testing products on animals.
To me, the frustrating part is that I feel like I have to be a detective--or to hire a detective--to find out who owns what in this country. Which unduly increases the burden on consumers who are trying to make informed decisions.
Probably the best known example of this sort of ownership being taken to the dark side is Silk soy milk being bought by White Wave foods. Their products used to be all organic, no GMO soybeans, and when it was acquired, the "organic" price didn't change, but the product was no longer organic. Sucks to exploit a loyal consumer base.
So long as a trusted green brand maintains their integrity, having an owner or business partner isn't as much of an issue to me. But, it means reading those labels again.
yes, it's important. I'm glad that people do the research & let us know. These companies are buying up their competition for very specific reasons that are not good for consumers. Also, we have no way of knowing if the brand maintains their integrity since the companies do not have to say where their raw ingredients come from for example.