Burt's Bees CEO Says New Parent Company Clorox is Cleaning Up its Act

“Don’t judge Clorox as much by where they’ve been as much as where they intend to go.”
-John Replogle, CEO of Burt's Bees

January 7, 2008 —

It's been more than two months since Clorox acquired Burt's Bees from the private equity firm AEA Investors, and with many loyal customers are still bristling at the news, CEO John Replogle has found himself in the position of having to defend both Burt's Bees and Clorox to consumers. Replogle says that Clorox appears to be serious about cleaning up its act, and has promised to make a blog post on the company's website in six months, updating his customers on whatever progress Clorox has or has not made.

However difficult it may be for a company like Clorox — which is best known for manufacturing environmentally hazardous bleach — to become born again as a "green," associating with the people from Burt's Bees isn't a bad first step. But if Clorox hopes to win even a modicum of trust from customers who are passionate about the environment, it's going to take a lot more than buying a company that was doing just fine on its own.

Clorox's first move was to unveil a new line of cleaning products called Green Works, which will all be at least 99 percent natural — with the exception of some preservatives and fragrances. It will be interesting to see whether Clorox makes any steps to improve any of the products it already manufactures, which include Glad storage and trash bags, Liquid-Plumr, Formula 409 and Tilex. For Clorox, measure of improvement isn't offering new products to the emerging eco-concious market, it's an overhaul of the business philosophies that lead it to manufacture toxic products in the first place.