Tom's of Maine- owned by colgage/palmolive? Any others?

puppydoggie

I buy products that do not animal test and just learned below that Tom's of Maine is owned by this huge company. Time to switch...

Any other brands owned by the "big evil guys"? We use Nature's Gate, ToM, Dr. Bronners, Jason's Organics, and pretty much any other brand that does not animal test and is vegan...

 

Inkful

But is Tom's actually doing animal testing? Or were they just purchased by a company that happens to do animal testing? Seems like an important distinction. Just because Tom's of Maine was purchased by Colgate Palmolive, it doesn't necessarily mean that there's been a change to how the business is run.  Sure, they're probably switching backend systems and some ingredient sourcing to economize. But, the value of Tom's of Maine to Cologate Palmolive is likely the brand and it's customer base. Knowing that, it isn't in Colgate Palmolive's best interest to make wholesale changes that would alienate Tom's customer base.

puppydoggie

Inkful:

But is Tom's actually doing animal testing? Or were they just purchased by a company that happens to do animal testing? Seems like an important distinction. Just because Tom's of Maine was purchased by Colgate Palmolive, it doesn't necessarily mean that there's been a change to how the business is run.  Sure, they're probably switching backend systems and some ingredient sourcing to economize. But, the value of Tom's of Maine to Cologate Palmolive is likely the brand and it's customer base. Knowing that, it isn't in Colgate Palmolive's best interest to make wholesale changes that would alienate Tom's customer base.

 

I don't want to even indirectly support a company who tests on animals.

Lucyboo25

Ditto. Tom's of Maine is produced by Colgate Palmolive. It's like P&G, it's not that it supports animal testing, it's that they don't actively ban their suppliers and producers from doing so. There's a lot of fluff on P&G's website about their anti-animal testing and pro-environmental policies, but don't be fooled, there's a lot of reading between the lines and outside research to be done on the consumer's end. It's next to impossible to prove a producer tests on animals until a lab gets busted. So to be on the safe side, I boycott all P&G brands. I bought Tom's of Maine once and will never again.

/endrant.

 

ETA: It's not P&G, I was getting their brand list confused with my PETA list of companies that test on animals. Sorry for the mis-info!

magpie1127

Yes-this is a sad truth.  To me, though, I really hope people don't stop purchasing things like Tom's because of this.  Here's why-I think that if Tom's sales GROW rather than decline, that could be a great incentive for these large companies to move towards more cruelty-free practices.  We aren't ever going to be able to completely destroy major brands/big business, but we can do our best to encourage those brands to become more eco-friendly and cruelty free.

 What's the best way to encourage companies like Colgate, P&G, etc. to become cruelty free?  Boycotting their products, or buying their products that don't animal test?  Tom's of Maine's original CEO still runs all the company and incorporates the same principals.  The same is true of Kashi (Kellog) and Stonyfiend (Dannon.)

 I don't know personally what the answer is, but I think encouraging mainstream media to become cruelty-free is the only way to truly save animals from their harsh circumstances. 

magpie1127

magpie1127:

Stonyfiend (Dannon.)

Haha Stonyfield not fiend... 

SuperGreen

Here's which organic foods are owned by which corporations (greenwashing):

https://www.msu.edu/~howardp/organicindustry.html

Wishin986

magpie1127:

 What's the best way to encourage companies like Colgate, P&G, etc. to become cruelty free?  Boycotting their products, or buying their products that don't animal test?  Tom's of Maine's original CEO still runs all the company and incorporates the same principals.  The same is true of Kashi (Kellog) and Stonyfiend (Dannon.)

[disclaimer: lurker - but I work a lot in this space]

Ben & Jerry's is another brand that was bought out as well. And Honest Tea is being acquired by Coca-Cola.  But just because they are bought out by a larger umbrella company does not mean that the values of that particular brand changes.  Often, the former CEO remains CEO.  

The reason why they get bought out is because legally they are obligated to whether or not they want to.  As a legal entity, the corporation must put profit for shareholders first.  That's why you have new legislation being bassed for new legal entities such as the Benefit Corporation and Flexible Purpose Corporation.  A lot of these companies don't actually want to see but they have to.  Therefore, when they do get bought out they tend to put a fair amount of safety nets into the agreement to ensure the integrity of the brand.  It's just the way capitalism works.  So I wouldn't boycott brands who worked so hard to create sustainable responsible brands.

Jen&Joe06

This has nothing to do with ToM directly but I really think that there is an opportunity for governments to smarten up when it comes to animal testing. I used to work for a German company and it was the law there that every chemical be tested on animals (as close to as humans as possible - so they used beagles). Even worse the government made each company that would use these chemicals test on animals so the industry couldn't even band together and share test results/the costs.