It has been six months since we were acquired by The Clorox Company and, at that time, I made a pledge to report back on our progress. When Clorox bought Burt’s Bees there were generally three types of responses - neutral, wait and see, and healthy skepticism. Understandably, the voices of concern were focused on if Clorox would deter us from our mission, change our values, lessen our commitment to environmental and social responsibility, or most importantly, alter our natural products. In response, I asked for your patience and requested for you to judge us by our actions over the coming months.
Rather than diluting our commitment, the acquisition has helped bring the Burt's Bees team closer together and has further coalesced our resolve behind our mission and values. Now, more than ever - and with the full support of Clorox - we actively strive to bring forth positive change.
Here are a few of our accomplishments which I feel illustrate this best:
- Launched the Natural Standard in conjunction with other leading natural care brands and the Natural Products Association
- Hosted the first Planet Earth Day Celebration in our hometown of Raleigh attracting over 15,000 visitors and creating a rich and engaging educational experience
- Furthered our strides in environmental sustainability by cutting our energy use per unit by over 30% and cut water use by nearly 10%
- Donated over $100,000 of goods to Americares in order to provide hygiene and personal care to the world’s neediest children.
- Continued to drive awareness and research funding, through NAPPC, to understand the importance of finding a solution for Colony Collapse Disorder
During the past six months, we’ve also learned to effectively collaborate with our Clorox colleagues to assist each other on this journey. Clorox continued to move forward with their environmental commitment and joined the EPA Climate Leaders -- initiatives we fully support.
Finally, we heard loud and clear from a passionate and vocal group who expressed concerns about Burt's Bees' support of Clorox, a company that conducts limited product safety testing on animals.
We reached out to our partners at Clorox to tackle the issue together. In so doing, we learned that Clorox has been working to end animal testing for years. Clorox's current policy allows animal testing only when it's required by a regulatory body. The rare exception to this policy, which only senior management can authorize, would be if other efforts have been exhausted to establish the product's safety profile. We also learned a great deal about EPA requirements for products regulated as disinfectants and protocols established by the Consumer Safety Products Commission for animal testing and labeling requirements.
We understand that eliminating animal testing will require significant scientific advances as well as regulatory policy change. And, to foster new protocols and encourage acceptance of alternatives to conventional animal testing in the area of public health disinfectant products, it will take further diligence from Clorox in collaboration with industry partners and the EPA. We believe Clorox is committed to eliminating animal testing altogether, and we will continue to engage the issue with our Clorox colleagues.
Burt's Bees remains steadfast to our guiding principles and fundamentally in the belief that together with you, our consumers, we can be one of the most powerful forces for positive change. We hope to continue to build your trust and loyalty.
I would like to keep the dialogue open and hear back from you with any questions, concerns, support or feedback.
As always, thanks for your passion, belief and support.
Sincerely,
John Replogle
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