Clorox to green up its cleaning act?
Can Clorox–a brand synonymous with synthetic bleach–green-ify its business? That’s an increasingly important question as major corporations known for polluting the environment try to capitalize on consumer demand for healthier, more eco-friendly goods. For example, L’Oreal, which was recently named one of the 10 worst luxury brands (story here) by environmental measures, owns natural body care lines the Body Shop and Kiehls.
But Clorox is an emblem of the eco shift, having just launched a line of plant-derived biodegradable cleaning products called Green Works to challenge companies like Method and Mrs. Meyers–early success stories in the earth-friendly cleaning business. (Clorox said that Green Works will be in stores this month.) And in November, Clorox bought Burt’s Bees for a hefty $913 million.
This Sunday article from the New York Times takes a close look at the controversy around the buyout of Burt’s Bees, a company known for organic ingredients and environmental practices. After all, it’s easy to wonder if Clorox will dilute Burt’s Bees longstanding environmental practices. Clorox representatives say no.
Excerpt: “Burt’s Bees maintains its founders’ green philosophies. Employees’ bonuses are based in part on how well the company meets energy conservation goals, and there are prime parking spaces for staff members who drive hybrid cars or carpool. It buys offsets for 100 percent of its carbon emissions and is working toward a goal of sending no trash to landfills by 2020.”
Burt’s Bees CEO John Replogle also said in the article that in six months he “will post a blog on the Burt’s Bees site about whether he thinks Clorox is making enough progress on its green initiatives” and that Burt’s Bees’ 380 employees “have an opportunity to influence the direction” of the company, which logged $4.8 billion in sales in 2007 and has 7,800 employees.
What particularly struck me in the article was that Burt’s Bees has taken it upon itself to set standards in an industry inundated with claims of eco practices. The company’s internal research lab has started to test competitors products labeled as “natural” to see if they measure up, according to the article.
Excerpt: Burt’s Bees has also led a group of companies that have teamed up with the Natural Products Association to create a standard for natural personal care products, complete with stickers to label items that make the cut. To qualify, brands must create products that are at least 95 percent natural and contain no ingredients known to be harmful. The stickers will make their debut in April.
We’ll see if these steps make a difference to an already confusing marketplace and whether Green Works lives up to its eco marketing. But when it comes to a vision of a greener Clorox, it’s at least a move in the right direction. With luck, it will have a positive ripple effect.
May 27th, 2008 at 10:11 pm
[…] took the opportunity to ask her how sales were going and if the company plans to “green” other Clorox products, i.e., change formulations for non-biodegradable or synthetic […]
January 29th, 2010 at 8:34 pm
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