Burt's Bees, Tom's of Maine: Your Favorite Brands? Look Again -- They May Not Be What They Seem

[Orwellian_Ghost]

Burt's Bees, Tom's of Maine, Naked Juice: Your Favorite Brands? Take Another Look -- They May Not Be What They Seem



Needless to say, I was shocked when I recently found out that Burt's Bees is now owned by Clorox, a massive corporate company that has historically cared very little about the environment, but whose main industry is directly associated with harmful chemicals, some of which require warning labels for legal sale.

<snip>

I now understood. The reason Burt's Bees products were everywhere was precisely because they now had a powerful corporation in the driver's seat, with big marketing budgets and existing distribution systems.



In 2003, a private equity firm, AEA investors, purchased 80 percent of Burt's Bees from Quimby, with her retaining a 20 percent share and a seat on the board. In 2006, John Replogle, the former general manager of Unilever's skin-care division became CEO and president of Burt's Bees. The company was sold to Clorox in late October 2007 for $925 million.

Quimby was paid more than $300 million for her stake in Burt's Bees. At the time of that deal, Shavitz reportedly demanded more money, and Quimby agreed to pay him $4 million. Quimby now refurbishes fancy, swank homes in Florida, travels the world and buys massive chunks of land in her free time. Our bearded man Shavitz, on the other hand, now 73 and unchanged, continues to reside amidst nature in his now-expanded turkey coop, which still remains absent of electricity or running water.



I began to wonder about the other products I liked, trusted and respected for their independence and their social responsibility. How many were really owned by big corporations, who were going out of their way to hide the link between the big corporate company with the small, socially responsible brand? It didn't take long for my list of disappointments to grow and grow.

<snip>

http://www.alternet.org/healthwellness/131910/burt%27s_bees%2C_tom%27s_of_maine%2C_naked_juice%3A_your_favorite_brands_take_another_look_--_they_may_not_be_what_they_seem/

[ogneopasno]

1. Not surprising at all. They're successful companies, larger companies want friendly brands, so they

buy them up. People need to guard against giving their hearts to companies. It never ends well.

[MADem]

2. It's inevitable. If you start seeing that "boutique" stuff that you paid way more for

appearing on the shelves of your local CVS or chain grocer and competitively priced, it's happened.

The sales are announced, it's just that they don't roll out the brass band.

The writer needs to understand the whole "caveat emptor" deal. If she's so adverse to buying corporate products, she'd better subscribe to a business publication, or at least read the business section of her local paper, read the fine print on the product labels, or pay attention when "homegrown" products suddenly start advertising in glitzy magazines and on tv. None of these sales she's griping about were news to me, and all I do is read the paper every day. We haven't been "fooled." She hasn't been paying attention:

Marketing strategies have been fooling us to trust that the niche brands continue to be small, environmentally conscious businesses that combine ecologically sound practices with a political agenda to put products out on the market under a business model of "the Greater Good."

In fact, they are frequently cogs in the giant corporate wheel. I like to refer to this "other" business model as "We've Been Had." It is time for we, the consumer, to question how much the ownership and neglectful marketing of these "pseudo" responsible brands warrant crossing them off our shopping list.

And it is time to find products more in tune with our values, which include thinking small. At least until they, too, get bought out by some large conglomerate.

[DKRC]

7. She doesn't have time to read

since she's up to her eyebrows in everyone's medicine cabinet.
:eyes:

Upon first meeting someone, I can usually tell a quite a lot about them by the contents of their bathroom. The brand I see most often behind medicine cabinets of people I consider to be environmentally conscious is Tom's of Maine.

By Andrea Whitfill, AlterNet. Posted March 17, 2009.

[MADem]

10. She one of "those" then. Good grief. A brand-name snob in her own way.

It's not Gucci, Pucci, and so on, it's "faux environmental" small businesses that turn her head.

The real (as opposed to faux) "environmentally conscious" person would use baking soda, with maybe a diluted peroxide rinse every now and again. A cerealboard box is less waste/more biodegradable than a plastic or metal tube, after all, and there's less of a carbon footprint in the manufacture, too.

That was how it was done "BT"--before toothpaste.

If I meet her, and I hope I don't, I'll make it a point not to invite her in....or if I do, I'll put one of those exploding snakes in the medicine chest. It would serve her right. What a Nosey Parker!! And she's so obtuse, she has no shame in telling all her pals that she's been snooping in their bathrooms, either.

[WildEyedLiberal]

34. Thank God I'm not the only one who found that creepy and disturbing

Not only does she snoop uninvited in other people's MEDICINE CABINETS, she JUDGES THEM based on what she finds! How presumptuous, rude, and intrusive.

[TBF]

3. Well, crap, I like the Burt's Bees products! I knew about Ben & Jerry's

though - that was all over the press when they were sold.

[Orwellian_Ghost]

13. Who Owns "Organic?"

The latest update of major corporate ownership and involvement in the organic food sector is now out. The chart graphically focuses on the organic brands with ties to the top 25 food processors in North America. You can view a full-size version of the latest chart by http://www.cornucopia.org/graphics/OrganicTop25Jul07.pdf">clicking here.

Dr. Phil Howard, an Assistant Professor at Michigan State, is responsible for the creation and updating of the organic food business chart. He teaches in the University’s Community, Agriculture, Recreation and Resource Studies program.

Dr. Howard has now created a new graphically animated version of consolidation occurring in the organic food sector between 1995 and 2007. You can view this by clicking on this link:
http://www.msu.edu/~howardp/OrganicIndustry.mov

Dr. Howard’s first organic food sector chart, from 2002 (the date the USDA’s organic standards were implemented), offers an interesting comparison of the dramatic changes that have taken place with organics over the past 4 years. You can view the 2002 organic food sector chart by http://www.cornucopia.org/graphics/OrganicOct02.pdf">clicking here.


All of the charts are in a pdf format and may take a few moments to load, depending on your connection speed.

http://www.cornucopia.org/who-owns-organic/

[nilram]

19. great charts, thanks! (nt)

[cali]

15. much better than Burt's Bees

is Wild Hill. Their skin care products are fantastic. Their prices are very reasonable. Their formulas and ingredients are all natural. I'm addicted to their replenishing face cream and their lavender salt scrub.

http://www.wildhillherbals.com/index.html

[TBF]

16. Great, thank you!

It is the Burt's bubble bath that I like - and it looks like they have plenty of bath beads, etc... I'm going to give them a try. :)

[bear425]

4. The part of the article that I find most enlightening is

the corporate control of local water supplies. That is scary. Interesting article. thanks.

[upi402]

27. They're building plants that add anti-corrosives to water to preserve pipes

The ppm is small, now, but can't be healthy to drink if it keeps iron pipe from being rotted by water. Probably better than plastic pipe though. I've seen the facilities but these were municipalities.

I wonder if there's a link to big pharma and water?

[CrispyQ]

31. Here's one link:

from August 2008

Drinking Water of 41 Million Americans Contaminated with Pharmaceuticals

http://www.enn.com/pollution/article/38022

snip...

An investigation by the Associated Press (AP) has revealed that the drinking water of at least 41 million people in the United States is contaminated with pharmaceutical drugs.

It has long been known that drugs are not wholly absorbed or broken down by the human body. Significant amounts of any medication taken eventually pass out of the body, primarily through the urine.

"People think that if they take a medication, their body absorbs it and it disappears, but of course that's not the case," EPA scientist Christian Daughton said.

While sewage is treated before being released back into the environment, and water from reservoirs or rivers is also treated before being funneled back into the drinking water supply, these treatments are not able to remove all traces of medications. And so far, the EPA has not regulated the presence of pharmaceuticals in drinking water, meaning that there are no laws in existence today that protect consumers from this increasingly dangerous chemical contaminant of the water supply.

more at link

[Triana]

5. Burts Bees raised their damned prices and switched to non-recyclable packaging on some products

recently too.

Hardly a surprise.

[Greyhound]

8. If you have any of the old containers, compare the ingredients.

They change those too.

This is the inevitable result of American capitalism, companies don't want to compete and when large enough will simply buy up any small potential competitors. Failing that, they will squeeze them out through a variety of means, from disinformation campaigns, choking off required materials or distribution, buying legislation, to outright theft. Once a field is dominated by a few large companies, innovation slows or stops and collusion replaces the last vestige of competition.

[TwilightGardener]

6. If the ingredients and formulas are the same...I don't care.

[Ocracoker16]

9. Thanks for sharing the article

Burt's Bees products used to be found only in natural health food stores. After awhile CVS started selling them and I became suspicious and stopped buying them. I didn't know that Kashi was bought by Kellogg's. I am sure there are plenty of people out there purchasing the brands discussed in the article that think that they are supporting small businesses and are avoiding large corporations.

[blindpig]

11. This occurs across the spectrum of production.

Tools, consumer electronics, clothing, you name it. In seeking maximum profits big money absorbs smaller firms, increasing their profits and removing quality from available products. Ever notice that brands generally decline in quality, usually in one fell swoop. That is the corporate buy out.

In the hunt for ever increasing profits this is inevitable and it serves no good purpose for anyone except the stockholders and their hirlings.

[MorningGlow]

12. We stopped buying Tom's of Maine

when it was bought out by Colgate-Palmolive three years ago. Happens all the time (sucks)--we just move on to a different brand.

[InvisibleTouch]

14. Sounds like the only way to TRULY support small, environmentally-friendly businesses...

...is to buy as much as possible locally, at farmer's markets and the like. There are people who make soaps, lotions, candles, cleaning products, etc. (Or of course we could make our own, but for those who don't have the time or inclination, buying from someone who does is the next-best option.) It's not fair to expect people to keep up on every behind-the-scenes sale of a small company to a big conglomerate. It is deceptive, and meant to fool those who trusted the brand. For my part, I have time to make my own laundry detergent every few months; I don't have time to scour the fine print and keep track of the ownership of every brand name I buy.

Same thing happened with Iams pet food many years ago, incidentally. Formerly a decent food, as dry kibble goes, and available only at specialty stores, it started showing up in the supermarkets at lower prices. Initially that sounds like a positive thing: more access at lower cost. The real reason, however, was that the company was bought by Procter & Gamble - which has (or had, at the time) one of the worst animal-rights records in the industry. And of course they moved immediately to cheaper filler ingredients, thus justifying the price drop, at the expense of pets' health. There are still some decent organic pet food manufacturers out there, but with repeated recall scares and soulless giant corporations looking to gobble up what they can, I advocate "make your own" here as well.

[TBF]

18. One of my friends who breeds cattle dogs told me about the Iams and

Science Diet reps ... she gave me a list of some foods that don't contain as much filler and haven't shown up on recall lists yet. But, as you commented, keeping an eye on them is important because they usually do get bought out eventually.

[lildreamer316]

21. Here are resources for anyone interested in buying homemade body care &cleaning products/making own:

Esty (like ebay but specifically for crafty people );
http://www.etsy.com/

and believe it or not (please be very nice if you sign up) go to the forums on the LUSH North America website;
http://www.lush.com/
the "Other Companies You Love" section is a GOLDMINE of small independent websites that make bath stuffs; cosmetics; and sometimes even home cleaning supplies with all-natural and organic ingredients.

To learn about what really works for cosmetics & skincare:

http://www.makeupalley.com/
This is *THE* resource to find out what really works, IMHO. Go to the skincare board and ask all the questions you can think of. You will get excellent advice and personal experience help. The ladies there have tried EVERYTHING at least once! It is my go-to guide. The product review section is also very helpful. They are also very well informed as to what contains natural and organic ingredients; and what does not.


Start making your own fairly easily: Resources:


http://www.smartskincare.com/
You can purchase the doctor's PDFs of how to make your own, proven effective (he tells you all the research and explains it in detail on the site and in the PDFs) skin serums. I make my own stable vitamin c serum for about $5 a batch.


Essential Day Spa Forum:
http://www.essentialdayspa.com/forum/
lots of DIY recipe (whole section); lots of info. A bit hard to navigate, but worth it.


Skin Care Recipes:
http://www.skin-care-recipes-and-remedies.com/


Good places to buy ingredients for DIY skincare:

BulkActives
http://www.bulkactives.com/
(I have ordered from them personally - absolutely no problems)


Garden Of Wisdom
http://www.gardenofwisdom.shoppingcartsplus.com/home.html
Great stuff, great customer service.They are rep'd to have a great forum; but I find it hell to navigate. YMMV.


Other sites like this are skinactives and thepersonalformulator; but their customer service has been slammed on several of the above good boards, so I don't rec them. Again, YMMV.


Another possible resource..

Earth Clinic
http://www.earthclinic.com/
GOLDMINE for natural remedies and how real ppl have reacted to them.




Hope this is helpful to someone.

[InvisibleTouch]

22. Great resources, thanks!! n/t

[greenbird]

24. Would you care to share

your recipe for laundry detergent? I've been experimenting and haven't come up with anything acceptable yet.

[InvisibleTouch]

25. Sure thing:

In fact, I got the recipe right here at DU, but don't recall the poster's name to properly attribute it. They got it from another source also, as I recall. Anyway, ingredients are:

Fels Naptha soap
Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (not baking soda)
20 Mule Team Borax
(all of which you should be able to find in the laundry section of Kroger's or other grocery store, but if not, they are sold on eBay)

Directions:

Grate 1/3 bar of Fels Naptha soap into a pot with 3 pints of hot water, and heat on low until dissolved. (DON'T use an aluminum pot, because the alkaline soap solution can damage the pot.)

Stir in 1/2 cup of washing soda and 1/2 cup borax, and stir until thickned (about 15 minutes), and remove from heat.

Add 1 quart of hot water to a 2-gallon bucket, then add the soap mixture, and mix well.

Fill bucket to the 2-gallon mark with hot water, and mix well.

Set aside for 24 hours or until the mix thickens.

Use 1/2 cup per load.

********

I had to actually look up that 1 pint = 2 cups and 1 quart = 4 cups, because I've never measured anything in pints and quarts before. :)

In my experience the mix stays fairly fluid, but works fine, both in hot or cold water. I shake the container well before adding the detergent mix to my laundry. The prep/cook time took me around 30-40 minutes, and I just saved my empty gallon-sized liquid laundry detergent containers to store the homemade detergent. I think my cost came out to something like $1 per gallon (plus whatever energy cost was needed to heat the stove), and the 2 gallons I made back in January have lasted about 2 1/2 months. This is for a household of one person and a pack of dogs, so YMMV.

Hope that helps!

[greguganus]

17. My niece was a buyer for Burt's Bees and was laid off with others when they were bought out. n/t

[suninvited]

20. I didn't see anything

in those articles regarding Amy's organic foods. Is it still a "good" company? I LOVE Amy's products.

[Raine]

23. Aw shucks

this really sucks! :-(

[Naturyl]

26. I love the images. Thanks (n/t)

[loudsue]

28. This really makes me sick.

:argh: What next.

[ellacott]

29. Wow, I love Burt's Bees products

I'll have to find another brand. Thanks for the information.

[depakid]

30. I almost wish I hadn't read this

General Mills owns Cascadian Farm...

...Dagoba Chocolate, which had a little cult chocolate following for a while, is surprise, surprise, owned by Hershey Foods.

:evilfrown:

[CrispyQ]

32. "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the Corporations of America..."

I love this flag, but I wish someone would update it. For starters, it needs Enron & AIG on it! And I can think of a slew of others!

[aikoaiko]

33. As long as the product is still the same (or as good), I don't care.

I don't buy products based on who owns the company, usually.