In 2005, Colgate sold the under-performing brands Fab, Dynamo, Arctic Power, ABC,
Cold Power and
Fresh Start, as well as the license of the
Ajax brand for laundry detergents in the US, Canada and
Puerto Rico, to
Phoenix Brands, LLC as part of its plan to focus on its higher margin oral, personal, and pet care products. In 2006, Colgate-Palmolive announced the intended acquisition of
Tom's of Maine, a leading maker of natural toothpaste, for US$100 million. Tom's of Maine was founded by
Tom Chappell in 1970. In 2020, Colgate-Palmolive acquired Hello Products LLC, one of the fastest-growing premium oral care brands in the United States, for an undisclosed amount. Today, Colgate has numerous subsidiary organizations spanning 200 countries, but it is publicly listed in three: the United States, India, and Pakistan. On October 25, 2012, the company announced it would cut 2,310 workers, or 6% of its workforce, by the end of 2016 in a push to make the consumer products company more efficient. The company ranked 184th on the 2018
Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by revenue. In 2021, the company ranked 15th on the list of Most Trusted Brands by
Morning Consult.
Educational and community involvement In 1890, Madison University in New York State was renamed
Colgate University in honor of the Colgate family following decades of financial support and involvement. The Colgate-Palmolive Company has sponsored a non-profit track meet open to women of all ages called the
Colgate Women's Games. The Colgate Women's Games is the nation's largest amateur track series open to all girls from elementary school through college. Held at
Brooklyn's
Pratt Institute, competitors participate in preliminary meets and semi-finals over five weekends throughout January. Finalists compete for trophies and educational grants-in-aid from Colgate-Palmolive Company at New York City's
Madison Square Garden in February. For more than 20 years, the company supports the
Starlight Children Foundation which is a non profit organization dedicated to help seriously ill children and their families. The mission is to help children to cope with pain, fear and isolation through entertainment, family activities and education. The Colgate website has resources for children including educational tooth brushing songs and animated videos featuring its former animated mascot Dr. Rabbit.
Ethics In 2011, Colgate-Palmolive was one of the first companies recognized by
PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) under the new "working for regulatory change" category for companies that test on animals only when mandated by government regulations and are actively seeking alternatives to animal testing. This relates to the corporation's decision to continue to participate in the profitable Chinese market, where some animal testing is still a regulatory requirement. Other companies have chosen to decline entry to this market. In 2006, Colgate-Palmolive acquired an 84% stake in
Tom's of Maine. In 2011, the company chose to retain the use of the antibacterial agent
triclosan in its market-leading Total toothpaste range, despite withdrawing it from several other product ranges, following concerns about triclosan's impact on health and the environment. As of January 2024, Ethical Consumer website states that "Our research highlights several ethical issues with Colgate-Palmolive, including its approach to palm oil, supply chain management, climate change, excessive pay, tax, human rights, and animal testing. It scored our worst rating across all of these categories."
Environmental record Colgate-Palmolive received the 2012
Safe-in-Sound Excellence in Hearing Loss Prevention Award. As a successor to
the Mennen Company, Colgate-Palmolive was reported in 2017 as one of about 300 companies held potentially responsible for
hazardous waste at the
Chemsol federal
Superfund site in
Piscataway, New Jersey. Their involvement in this site may have contributed to the
contamination of an estimated of soil with
volatile organic compounds (VOCs),
PCBs, and
lead off-site. A proposed $23 million agreement with the government and state of New Jersey would require Colgate-Palmolive and the other involved companies to pay for the cleanup of this hazardous waste that is contaminating the soil as well as the
groundwater. In 2019,
BreakFreeFromPlastic cited Colgate-Palmolive as one of the world's top ten plastic polluters. Previously, Colgate-Palmolive had committed to 100% recyclability of plastics in packaging across all its product categories by 2025 but made no commitment to reducing the use of virgin plastic in packaging. A 2021 report by Global Witness, updated in 2022, stated that Colgate-Palmolive had used palm oil suppliers connected to bribery, brutalisation of villagers and child labour in Papua New Guinea. In 2021, the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) gave Colgate-Palmolive a score of "F" on their "scorecard" keeping track of deforestation and human rights abuses. In August 2021, Colgate-Palmolive publicly disclosed the "forest impact of its palm oil supply chain in the Indonesian province of North Sumatra", showing the impact on the rainforests and the indigenous people who live there. In November 2023, Colgate-Palmolive received a "D-" on their RAN scorecard. In relation to climate change, in June 2023, Planet Tracker stated that Colgate-Palmolive "is on a path to missing its approved Science-based Targets emissions by a factor of 7 when optional indirect use emissions are excluded", it "provides 'no clear strategy' to mitigate its main source of emissions, namely, upstream Scope 3 activities" and its "climate engagement with its value chain has not resulted in positive results over the last half-decade, with the GhG emissions from key 'targeted' areas experiencing substantial growth." Sustainability Beat stated in August 2023 that this puts its profits in jeopardy and risks
greenwashing. In 2024, the website Ethical Consumer gave Colgate-Palmolive the worst possible rating for climate change, plastic use, and palm oil/deforestation. It received their best rating for avoiding toxic chemicals in its products. • Noel Wallace • John P. Bilbrey • Lisa M. Edwards • C. Martin Harris • Martina Hund-Mejean • Kimberly A. Nelson • Lorrie M. Norrington •
Steve Cahillane •
John T. Cahill •
Stephen Sadove Employment diversity Colgate-Palmolive was named one of the "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers" by
Working Mother magazine. The 2012
Human Rights Campaign "report card" on American businesses gave Colgate an A for its support of diversity in the workplace. However,
Ethical Consumer states that the company "published no standards for working hours and wages and no information about the outcomes of supply chain audits. There was no clear mechanism workers could use to make anonymous complaints and raise issues", and scores badly in their human rights category. ==Brands==