So you’re bummed because just found out your favorite all-natural brand was bought by a large corporation. Whether it’s Burt’s Bees you’re mourning or Honest Tea you’re upset about, the question still remains, am I doing the right thing by still buying this brand? Will the company’s ethics and core values still stay the same?

The answer to those questions are as gray and convoluted as Donald Trump’s comb-over. On the one hand, no matter who owns the companies, the products themselves are FAR better than the competition. Compare Naked Juice to Minute Maid; it’s a no-brainer. And Burt’s Bees versus Chapstick? KO punch to the groin.

But it doesn’t just end there.

While yes, the ingredients are better than a majority of the products on our grocery shelves, their sources and packaging can be worse than you realize. Take for example Silk Soymilk. They used to source all of their ingredients from fair trade and organic sources, but it’s been revealed now that due to their sale to Dean Foods, they’ve started to source their soy beans from China. Doesn’t sound that bad you say? Think about their human rights issues and the exploitation of their workers, along with the country’s obvious blindness to the effects of chemicals and environmental pollutants. Then take into consideration the energy it took to get those soybeans to America.

Also take into consideration Dr. Bronner’s lawsuit against companies who falsely make organic claims.

The packaging of your products can also take a turn for the worse, or more wasteful. In some cases, even the printing and sourcing of THOSE materials can come from other, cheaper and more lax countries, not to mention the extra packaging and resources that sometimes creeps into our products without our realizing.

The moral of the story is not to stop buying these products or throw your hands up and say “Damned if we do, damned if we don’t.” We need to be more aware and questions EVERYTHING that seems out of place with the products that we cherish and adore. We’ll try to keep you as up-to-date as we can here on Swye, and send your own emails to the companies that make your favorite products, trust me, they’re listening. When you do, send the original and the reply to chaz (at) swye.net and I’ll post the best ones on here.