Who's Really Cashing In on Green and Natural Products?

When was the last time you stop to investigate what you are really supporting when you purchase these so-called "organic and eco-friendly" brands?

As conscious consumers, it is not only important that we buy products that we feel are good for us and the environment; we must also think about the social responsibility (or lack thereof) and the larger impact of the companies that are actually producing them.

Here are some of the most widely recognized "green," "organic," or "eco-friendly" brands that are actually owned by the same multi-national corporations who use the ingredients and maintain the practices we are trying to avoid.

Burt's Bees - Owned by Clorox

If you were delighted to find that your local drug store, grocery store, and even Wal-mart had finally decided to carry the natural skin care products made by Burt's Bees. This company had humble beginnings in rural Maine, and the web site still references the way that its founder, Roxanne Quimby, started the company with the help of a local bee keeper, Burt, while living in a one room tent.

While these are the types of DIY tales that make most of us decide a brand is worth supporting, its important to note what the website will not tell you. "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" (alternet.org).

Food for Thought: It is typical for green consumers to shy away from a product or a brand when they "sell out" to a larger company, but we have to consider both the good and bad consequences of this occurrence.

Everyone wants to be successful, and if someone was offering hundreds of millions of dollars to buy the rights to produce your granola or soap, the truth is that you'd probably consider it. There is no rule that being green can not also mean that you are successful.

CLICK HERE FOR OTHER BRANDS THAT HAVE BEEN BOUGHT OUT BY LARGER CORPORATIONS...