Can Clorox "Go Green"?

GREEN FUTURES

Clorox eyes more Green in its Future

By Mark Isaac Thyss
Garden of Healing®

Originally Published: January 6, 2008

Clorox, the company promises, is going green.

Clorox Company, the consumer products giant best known for making bleach, has purchased Burt’s Bees, and plans to turn it into a mainstream American brand sold in big-box stores like Wal-Mart.

As big companies see bigger opportunities in the market for green products, transactions like this $913 million purchase make sense, for Clorox.

From 2000 to 2007, Burt’s Bees’ annual revenue soared to $164 million from $23 million.

Analysts say there is far more growth to be had as consumers keep gravitating toward products that promise organic and environmental benefits.

In the last couple of years, L’Oréal paid $1.4 billion for the Body Shop and Colgate-Palmolive bought 84 percent of Tom’s of Maine, which makes natural toothpaste and deodorant.

But as companies rush to put out more and more “natural,” “organic” or “green” products, consumers and advocacy groups are increasingly questioning the meaning of these labels.

Clorox agreed to buy Burt’s Bees in November of 2007 leaving scores of customers calling Burt’s Bees and accusing the company of selling out.

John Replogle, the chief executive of Burt’s Bees, says “Don’t judge Clorox as much by where they’ve been, as much as where they intend to go.”

Burt’s Bees, a niche company famous for beeswax lip balm, lotions, soaps and shampoos, as well as for its homespun packaging and feel-good, eco-friendly marketing, was founded by Burt Shavitz whose image is still used to peddle the products.

Will Burt’s Bees have a hand in turning Clorox green?

The company’s 380 employees have an opportunity to influence the direction of Clorox, a company that generated $4.8 billion in sales last year and employs 7,800 people.

As a sign of the times, Clorox says it is reshaping its product mix so that more of its products will be eco-friendly by its 100th anniversary in 2013.

© 1996-2009 Mark Isaac Thyss/Garden of Healing®. All rights reserved.

For more articles about natural health and healing, please visit:

http://www.thegardenofhealing.com/