High Stakes PacMan

Conscious Consuming points to an interesting article on the growing phenomenon of socially/environmentally responsible consumer goods companies being bought out by industry heavyweights.

Ben and Jerry's was bought out by Unilever. Fresh Samantha was devoured by Odwalla, itself owned by Coca-Cola. Converse by Nike. Stonyfield Farms by Danone. Aveda by Estee Lauder. The Body Shop by L'Oreal.

The milliion dollar question is, of course, who is being pulled into whose orbit. Sir Isaac Newton tells us that gravity "is dependent of the mass of the two objects; the greater the mass the larger the gravitational force," which may not bode well for the smaller companies.

In the best case scenario, the parent company leaves its new acquisition to do what they do best, and incorporates some of its best practices on a larger scale. On the other hand, we just need to look at Snapple for a reminder of how the parent company can muck things up.


Conscious Consuming: Selling Out or Buying In?