@conscious.app: "Ethical" brands that were bought out and had their values quietly stripped away. Lily's Kitchen Sold to Nestlé for an undisclosed sum in 2020. Henrietta Morrison started Lily's Kitchen after her dog Lily fell ill, and in 2015 it became the world's first B Corp pet food brand. Nestlé, its owner, was boycotted in 1977 over marketing baby formula to mothers in poor countries. Aesop Sold to L'Oréal for about $2.5 billion in 2023. Aesop never tested on animals, held Leaping Bunny cruelty-free certification, and earned B Corp ethical certification in 2020. L'Oréal, its owner, isn't on PETA's cruelty-free list because it sells in China, where some products can still be animal tested. Burt's Bees Sold to Clorox, the bleach maker, for about $925 million in 2007. Maine beekeeper Burt Shavitz co-founded Burt's Bees in 1984, and it grew into a brand built on at least 95% natural ingredients. He was bought out in 1999 for a house worth about $130,000. His face sells it for Clorox. Wild Deodorant Sold to Unilever for a reported £230 million in April 2025. Wild launched in 2020 to cut single-use plastic from bathrooms, selling refillable aluminium cases with plastic-free refills. Unilever, its owner, was ranked a top-three plastic polluter in 2021 and 2023 by Break Free From Plastic, which counts branded trash worldwide. Siete Foods Sold to PepsiCo for $1.2 billion in January 2025. Veronica Garza's family started Siete in 2014, making almond flour tortillas after her autoimmune diagnoses, including lupus. That family brand now belongs to PepsiCo, a top-three plastic polluter in every Break Free From Plastic audit from 2018 to 2021. Brands people felt good buying keep getting bought by the conglomerates they were meant to replace, and the packaging often looks the same after the sale. All five brands in this post now belong to Clorox, Unilever, L'Oréal, PepsiCo and Nestlé. Shop from ethical companies. Use the Conscious Spend app to find ethical companies and know who owns what you buy.

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Saturday 17 October 2026 04:58:29 GMT