Tom's of Maine
Summative Case Study 2
Ethics in the Workplace
Tom's of Maine: Doing Good while Doing Business
Tom's of Maine represents one of the first natural health care companies to distribute their product beyond the normal channels of health food stores. While it continues to grow, the owners, Tom and Katie Chappell, continue to emphasize the values that got them started over 28 years ago. The question becomes, can a small firm stay true to its founding principles and continue to grow in a fiercely competitive environment?
For its first 15 years, Tom's of Maine looked a lot like many other new businesses. It was started in 1970 by Tom and Katie Chappell, two people with an idea they believed in and felt others would also buy into, and financed by a small loan. Like many business startups, the company's first product was not successful. Its phosphate-free detergent was environmentally friendly but, according to founder Tom Chappell, "it didn't clean so well." Consumers did appear to be interested in "green" or environmentally friendly products, however, and the fledgling company's next products, toothpaste and soap, were more successful.
All Tom's of Maine products were made with all-natural ingredients and packaged using recycled materials whenever possible. New personal care products, including shampoo and deodorant, were developed while avoiding the controversial practice of animal testing. This refusal caused Tom's to wait seven years and shell out about 10 times the usual sum to get the American Dental Association's seal of approval for its fluoride toothpastes.
In 1992, Tom's deodorant accounted for 25 percent of its business. Chappell reformulated the product for ecological reasons (replacing petroleum with vegetable glycerin), but the new formulation "magnified the human bacteria that cause odor" in half its customers. After much agonizing, Chappell ordered the deodorant taken off the shelves at a cost of $400,000, or 30 percent of
Ethics in the Workplace
Tom's of Maine: Doing Good while Doing Business
Tom's of Maine represents one of the first natural health care companies to distribute their product beyond the normal channels of health food stores. While it continues to grow, the owners, Tom and Katie Chappell, continue to emphasize the values that got them started over 28 years ago. The question becomes, can a small firm stay true to its founding principles and continue to grow in a fiercely competitive environment?
For its first 15 years, Tom's of Maine looked a lot like many other new businesses. It was started in 1970 by Tom and Katie Chappell, two people with an idea they believed in and felt others would also buy into, and financed by a small loan. Like many business startups, the company's first product was not successful. Its phosphate-free detergent was environmentally friendly but, according to founder Tom Chappell, "it didn't clean so well." Consumers did appear to be interested in "green" or environmentally friendly products, however, and the fledgling company's next products, toothpaste and soap, were more successful.
All Tom's of Maine products were made with all-natural ingredients and packaged using recycled materials whenever possible. New personal care products, including shampoo and deodorant, were developed while avoiding the controversial practice of animal testing. This refusal caused Tom's to wait seven years and shell out about 10 times the usual sum to get the American Dental Association's seal of approval for its fluoride toothpastes.
In 1992, Tom's deodorant accounted for 25 percent of its business. Chappell reformulated the product for ecological reasons (replacing petroleum with vegetable glycerin), but the new formulation "magnified the human bacteria that cause odor" in half its customers. After much agonizing, Chappell ordered the deodorant taken off the shelves at a cost of $400,000, or 30 percent of