Recently, a post came through my Facebook news feed. It’s about Tom’s of Maine (toothpaste company) settling a class action lawsuit for $4.5 million dollars. It appears they have been advertising “natural” ingredients, when in fact they use highly processed ingredients. You can read the full story here: http://www.brandchannel.com/2015/07/29/toms-of-maine-072915/?utm_campaign=150729-toms&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email
But that’s not the *real* story.
The real story is that Tom’s of Maine is owned by Colgate-Palmolive, and has been since 2006. People who commented on the story were shocked. Those same people may be shocked to know that Burt’s Bees is owned by Clorox.
“Green” is very hot right now, so it makes sense that big conglomerates want to acquire smaller green companies for their portfolios. Once smaller indie brands are acquired by a larger company, you begin to see them everywhere.
I recently put together a chart (above) that shows which companies are owned by whom. It may surprise you. You may *think* you are supporting a small artisan, but in fact you may not be.
For the record, Celtic Complexion is solely owned by Mr. and Mrs. Celtic Complexion.