Tom's of Maine sells to Colgate: cashing in on blood money

No doubt many heave heard by now of the sale of personal care product company Tom's of Maine to corporate giant Colgate-Palmolive. It's nothing new, of course. Larger companies have been buying smaller companies for many years and will continue to do so. But this sale poses a real dilemma for those of us who are committed to supporting socially responsible companies, whether for fair labor practices, environmental reasons, or whatever. In this case, there is a clear issue for consumers who do not want to purchase products from companies who test their products and/or product ingredients on animals. Tom's has never tested its products on animals and has the CCIC seal of approval. But Colgate is on Peta's list of companies that still test products and/or ingredients on animals.

After so many years of committing to cruelty-free products, why Tom's chose C-P as the company to sell to is beyond me. According to the Tom's website, the company "... will continue to make products without artificial preservatives, sweeteners, or dyes and without animal testing or animal ingredients." Perhaps. But I would know that every dollar I spent on a Tom's product ultimately was going to a company that unnecessarily tortures and kills animals. That is not something I can live with. The Tom's owners still have part ownership in the company. The manufacturing of Tom's products relative to animal testing will not change. No matter how we parse it, a dollar spent on Tom's is a dollar in the pocket of an animal killer. So I will now be searching for alternatives to the alternative.