In the last few months well known ethical brands such as the Body Shop and Green & Blacks have been bought out by multinational companies. In a continuation of this trend, Colgate-Palmolive Company looks set to acquire the ethical toothpaste brand Tom’s of Maine.

This means that Tom’s of Maine, which currently stands at an impressive 16 out of 20 in Ethical Consumer’s unique “ethiscore” rating system, would see its score cut to just 5 out of 20, if the takeover goes through.

Tom’s of Maine has, up to now, been applauded by ethical consumers and has received Ethical Consumer’s highest rating for its environmental reporting, animal testing policy and for its paraben-free products. Parabens are hormone mimicking chemicals that have been linked to breast and testicular cancer.

Colgate’s current score of 5 out of 20 is attributable to its receiving Ethical Consumer’s worst rating for environmental reporting and its animal testing policy.

According to Rob Harrison, editor of Ethical Consumer:

“There is some evidence that global corporations are desperate to get a handle on the burgeoning ethical movement. Whether this wave of takeovers will lead to big business itself becoming more ethical, or whether it intends to neuter the opposition remains to be seen. Consumers remain, rightly, suspicious at this stage.”

Colgate-Palmolive products have been found to include parabens, saccharin (a known carcinogen) and triclosan (a microbiocide).

The Colgate-Palmolive company also operates in seven countries on Ethical Consumer’s list of oppressive regimes and it is a member of the NFTC (The National Foreign Trade Council). This is “the premier business organization advocating a rules-based world economy” which forms a free trade lobby group for the company’s political ambitions.

Shoppers wanting to find out which brands to avoid and which to buy can check out the toothpaste report on the free reports area of www.ethiscore.org.

A copy of the table from this report can be found below:

TOOTHPASTE Ethiscore (out of 20)
BRAND

Kingfisher (16)
Tom’s of Maine (16)
Bioforce (15)
Green People (15)
Jason (14.5)
Weleda (14)
Sarakan (13.5)
Clinomyn (12)
Arm & Hammer (8.5)
Mentadent (8.5)
Pearl Drops (8.5)
Theramed (5.5)
Colgate (5)
Aquafresh (3)
Macleans (3)
Sensodyne (3)
Crest Tartar (2)
Crest (2)

www.ethicalconsumer.org – helping consumers make better choices
www.ethiscore.org

For interviews please contact Ruth Rosselson on 07944 674 291 or the Ethical Consumer office on 0161 226 2929.