Uggh!In college I took a class called Social Responsibility of Business. Clearly the execs at Colgate-Palmolive never heard of such a thing.
From Newsweek...
Of all the unfamiliar products in a Chinese supermarket, one of the most shocking to American visitors is a toothpaste featuring the logo of a minstrel singer in a top hat, flashing a white smile. Even more shocking: the paste, known as Darlie in English and as Black People Toothpaste in Chinese, is a product of a Hong Kong–based company which is now owned in part by the Colgate-Palmolive Co.
Darlie used to be called Darkie...After Colgate purchased 50 percent of the firm in 1985, religious groups, African-Americans, and company shareholders protested the racially offensive nature of the brand. After more than three years of criticism, Colgate switched the name from Darkie to Darlie and modified the logo to a less crude version of a black man.
Colgate declined NEWSWEEK’s interview requests, instead releasing a statement saying, “There are different perspectives on this issue.”
That's not good enough for me so it looks like my long history with Tom's Toothpaste, which is now owned by Colgate-Palmolive, is coming to a screeching halt.
P.S. It would be nice to say there are no products in the U.S. marketed in a similar manner...if only that were true.
1 comment:
Glad I clicked over to see this on your blog today. Caught the last 2 seconds of the segment on The View today, so I knew there was some controversy going on.
My husband was given a tube, probably as a joke, years ago. Who knew that it would still be in production! What's the point!
(oh...they must be making money or keeping their name out there for their other products.)
I'll be looking further into it. Thanks.
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