The book “Ecobarons: the dreamers, schemers and millionaires who are saving our planet” by Edward Humes has a segment on Roxanne Quimby, the founder of Burt’s Bees. In 2003 she sold Burt’s Bees to a company called AEA Investors for $179 million, but kept a 20% interest and a seat on the board of directors. In 2007 it was sold to Clorox for $913 million ($182 million to Roxanne Quimby). Clorox agreed to continue the green policies already in place (which were continued after the sale to AEA) as well as to use green practices in some of its other divisions. So all in all, hopefully a win. Roxanne Quimby has spent much of her profit buying land in Maine that others were seeking to clear-cut for timber or development, with the plan to donate it to the national park system. Read the book for details on this and other econ barons/baronesses — it’s really interesting.

@Karen- You bring up a point that has been on my mind too. The bigger these small companies get, the more chemicals (and lost quality) might be ending up in the product. And that “more hands in the cookie jar” is a great analogy.

I hadn’t heard that about Stonyfield…if it’s true, it’s disturbing. I might have to put on my investigative hat and look that up!

Thanks so much for writing in!

It is a dilemma since I can find them everywhere now and don’t have to go to a natural food store. But the quality and the purity issue is bothersome since someone else’s hand is in the cookie jar and not the original developer of the product. Who knows where they are getting their ingredients from and how they are inspected.

Thanks so much for reading, and for taking the time to write in! That’s awesome you bought a Diva. I hope you love it.

I’ve never heard of Lush, but I’m going to look them up. Thanks for the tip!

And I know what you mean about picking the lesser of two evils. I sort of feel that way too.

Etsy is awesome, and I’m grateful you brought it up. I’ve purchased a few things from Etsy (I only discovered it a few months ago) and have been really impressed with everything I’ve bought. The quality is great, and it’s wonderful to buy from real people instead of a faceless company!

With Etsy, you really feel as if your money is going somewhere. You get a great product, and someone else gets paid. They can support their family.

Thanks for bringing that into the conversation!

It seems as if walking that line between “reaching more people” and “staying a boutique, family company” would be an incredibly difficult one to navigate.

I don’t know what the right answer is, but it seems as if many companies, and the awesome values they started with, get lost in the pursuit of the bottom line once they align themselves with a bigger corp.

It’s been a few years for Tom’s and Burt’s since their takeovers, so I’m hoping that they don’t succomb!

Thanks so much for writing in.

I’d like to plug Etsy as a place to shop for bath and beauty items from smaller, non-corporate owned companies. Although some sellers create products from a base, which is mass manufactured, a good deal of them make items from scratch and also buy their ingredients from other small and/or family-owned suppliers. I have been shopping there for 2 years now and have been 90% pleased with my products. Plus I am supporting (often times) single and/or stay-at-home moms and families. Read sellers’ feedback to find the best products for you. Check it out! http://www.Etsy.com

I just came across your blog today and I have already bookmarked you! I read your review on the Diva Cup and it gave me confidence to try it as well. I am rather new to Organics but I have to say making different choices has led me to feel feel and look better. I went to your home page and read this post which I found fascinating and informative. So keep up the good work. Being in the know is good and personally I love Green&Blacks and I will still choose to buy that over mainstream chocolates. I doubt I’ll buy Burt’s Bees products but for most lipbalm/skin care I use LUSH anyways. I love their products and they smell heavenly. However, I guess when shopping in the supermarket now it will feel less “organic” and more of like a choice between lesser of two evils now. *sigh*