The greening of Clorox?

Interesting article today in the NYT about the Burt’s Bees company, makers of Burts Beeswax lip balm and other wholesome products. It seems the company has been acquired by Clorox, who strike me as being the opposite of green and wholesome. (Their most famous product is bleach).

But the argument is that Clorox is trying to become more green and that they’re bringing out a line of natural products. It’s hard to judge the merits of this claim and also to know what’s the best thing to do. For example, recently we stopped buying Boca products because the company is part of Altria (which is basically a tobacco company). My wife’s response was to want to stop buying Boca products at once, but for me the jury is still out: what if a thriving Boca division actually helps Altria to move towards making more products that are healthy? I think there’s a case for rewarding bad companies when they do good things — the old carrot thing — rather than the approach being “all stick, all the time.”

Other things I didn’t know before I read this article.

• The Body Shop is owned by L’Oreal
• Colegate-Palmolive owns 84% of Tom’s of Maine
• Burt lives in a converted turkey coop

2 Responses to “The greening of Clorox?”

1. Rob says:

   January 21, 2008 at 8:30 am

   I quit buying boca products for a different reason. I found their veggie burgers had an interesting taste. Soon, I merely tolerated it and then one day, I made myself a burger and I could barely eat it it seemed so gross.

   Boca burgers weren’t an acquired taste for me, they were an acquired distaste.
2. bodhipaksa says:

   January 21, 2008 at 9:22 pm

   I had a similar experience. I used to like their burgers but now I find them yucky. For some reason no matter how long I fry them they stay raw in the middle.

   But I do like their fake chicken nuggets!