OT: Can Burt’s Bees Turn Clorox Green? (Profit Over Quality)

[Guest guest]

Howdy David,

 

Well,

>

> So that's what's been going on with them. I've been noticing an odd

> substation of ingredients when I read their labels at the store.

> Perhaps they were replacing things to increase their bottom line prior

> to make the sale more plausible.

>

 

Someone else commented to me off line .. said pretty much the same thing.

I didn't notice because I've not used the products. I would not doubt that

Burt's Bees looked for ways to shave costs an show an increase in actual and

potential profits prior to the sale of the company.

 

 

> While the people negotiating the deal may be very sincere about

> maintaining quality, in my experience it's just a matter of time

> before some whipper snapper convinces the corporate board they can make

> more money if they substitute this and that for quality

> ingredients. And it's a matter of time before profits push out

> quality. As the corporate board doesn't understand or care why almond oil

> is better than say soy or corn oil they are to serve the

> shareholders. They shareholders really just want to make money -

> that's why they buy a stock or mutual fund.

>

 

That's capitalism .. production and pricing for profit .. which I ain't

criticizing. ;-) But there is the potential for those who claim to be

going Green to make large profit in a less than honorable manner by taking

advantage of the unknowing who are dedicated to supporting those

organizations/corporations that claim to be Green but might not be as Green

as the dollars they are raking in.

 

Not knowing all the details but reading between the lines it looks to me

like Roxanne Quimby might have been just as greedy in her dealings with Burt

Shavitz. From the tale and looking at his photo I perceive a simple man who

wanted to live a simple life who picked up a lost puppy on the side of the

road, took care of it and later the puppy took a bite out of him. I might

be wrong but by my personal standards I am right .. maybe I'm just not that

much of a capitalist. ;-)

 

 

> It kinda sad. So it seems they will go the same way as the Body Shop,

> Ben and Jerry's, Snapple etc.

>

 

I agree .. but this is something we might as well get used to .. small

companies will eventually bite the dust .. like Walmart kills off the Mom &

Pop stores now .. and for a few years, until there is more competition,

the cost for living Green is going to be a lot higher than should be the

fair profit after expenses of the producers. When in time every vegetable

market is Green prices will adjust downward due to lower production costs

and more competition. Eventually, production costs will be reduced even

more and competition will become greater .. then we can again begin to worry

about quality .. and misrepresentation .. just like in the Essential Oils

market today.

 

This price creep has been happening for some time now on commercially

produced foodstuffs .. and we haven't even gotten into the organic area

yet. See the next post I send on this .. doubt if it will shock folks but

it might remind them that they are upset because of it .. we can forget

that easily.

 

 

> David Roman Daniels

>

 

Y'all keep smiling. :-)

 

Butch .. http://www.AV-AT.com <http://www.av-at.com/>

 

 

 

[Guest guest]

Hmmmmm. I haven't bought any Burts Bees in over a year and have some of

their old stuff lingering around, I'll have to go and see what they are

changing. I usually buy just lip balms and usually when I'm someplace like

Reno where it's really dry and my lips just start splitting and bleeding,

but I have bought some hand lotion so I have a couple of things to compare.

 

K

 

 

On 1/9/08, too_hats <Too_hats wrote:

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--

Kathleen Petrides

Bead Hussy

http://www.BeadHussy.com