Wednesday, April 14, 2010

stung?

"Please cancel your coconut cream + honey moisturizing hand wash and go back to being a 100% vegan, cruelty free company!"

"Please reconsider your decision to move away from products that are 100% vegan. I feel good about purchasing your products based on the fact that they are vegan - please don't change that."

"I only buy from companies that do not use any animal ingredients in any products and that also do not animal test. I'm very disappointed that you've made the wrong decision to add animal ingredients into a product. Please rethink this repulsive decision otherwise I certainly will not be buying method products anymore."

"I only bought your shower cleaner because it was cruelty-free. It's worked well & I was thinking of buying more products from you. If you're not keep your items cruelty-free, I'll find a company that will."

"You're a cleaner clean? I don't think so, you guys are more like a dirtier clean! Shame on you people for using animal ingredients."

"I was always a big fan of your company. As a strict vegan and a sufferer of chemical sensitivities, I found your products to be a lifesaver, but after learning that you are no longer a vegan company and are now using honey in one of your products, I'll have to find another source."

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I swear to you I woke up today, and the vegan lynch mob had taken over method's Facebook account! Now, now, hold on - I don't mean that in any sort of jesting or negative manner; it was just yesterday was "Oh look violet bloom!" and today was "Holy crap, are they angry!" as post after post like this was showing up on the method Facebook page. I don't even have a clue where or when this all started? It (seems to) have happened that fast.

method's response (which they posted ad nauseam, just to make sure everyone understood where they were coming from (especially after the whole Soap Suds video incident) is:

"To our vegan friends:

Thanks for reaching out to us with your concerns. Since the beginning, we at Method have been committed to our beliefs as a vegan and cruelty-free brand. You are correct in bringing to our attention that a trace amount of honey in our new moisturizing hand wash is not vegan. We will start working immediately to re-formulate and remove honey from the product.

In an effort to create a moisturizing hand wash using natural and naturally-derived ingredients, we sought after some that are known for their moisturizing benefits, such as aloe and honey. This was an oversight on our end. We’re very sorry that we’ve disappointed you.... See More

Please rest assured that with this exception, all Method products are vegan and cruelty-free. We ensure that none of our suppliers do any animal testing on our behalf and have lobbied to gain acceptance for our non-animal product testing protocols from regulatory agencies, retailers and consumers. For our product safety testing, we use in-vitro (non-animal) simulated skin and eye irritation tests and have been successful in lobbying various federal and state agencies to accept these test methods in the place of animal test results.

A few efforts we’re particularly proud of:
• method dryer cloths – we pioneered a technology that uses plant-based softeners instead of animal fat, which is a standard ingredient in dryer sheets
• The beautiful colors in our soaps never come from animal by-products
• In 2006, PETA named our two co-founders ‘Person of the Year’ for their commitment to creating innovative and cruelty-free products

We hope you can forgive us for our mistake and trust that we will correct this issue as soon as possible.

Thanks, Method"

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Ok, honestly, I didn't know honey was such a big deal. Then again, I'm not a vegan, and I have a feeling they might be really angry if they knew I drank real milk, instead of soy milk? (And uhm, ate honey?) Who knows. My question to you is a) are you vegan? And b) what are your thoughts on all of this? Comment away!

7 comments:

The Classy Stoner said...

This scent is my favorite method has available currently. I will be very pissed if they change it in a way that changes the scent. Though I am confused why they have honey in it in the first place...a just coconut handwash sounds lovely.

Unknown said...

I never realized method claimed to be a vegan company, but I guess I was wrong since their response to the vegan uproar says they are. I thought they were just against animal testing. In that light, I understand the uproar. I am a vegetarian, and have stopped buying products I know contain animal byproducts. I have yet to call myself a vegan mainly due to the fact that I lack the militant resolve required to eliminate all animal byproducts completely from my life. If a company claims to be vegan, they should be sure to maintain that resolve. I am glad they responded quickly to the uproar and will be reformulating their new hand wash to remove honey. I had chosen not to buy it because it contained honey, but I plan to give it a go when the new formulation hits the shelves.

Karin said...

I don't get it...so vegan's think honey is cruelty to bees? Ummm, yeah, I think I need to keep my mouth shut on this one or I will probably offend people. But I just have to say: YUM! I love honey! Thank you honey bees for naturally creating such yummy goodness for us to enjoy! :)

raded6 said...

Sorry, I understand why you might want to be a vegan. And I understand only buying vegan products. But seriously, going after the company for having honey and depriving the rest of us? LAME. Just buy the normal handwash that IS vegan.

Josh said...

I'm not vegan or vegetarian. I have plenty of friends that are and it drives me crazy. I understand it's their choice, but come on! It's impossible to agree on a restaurant to meet up at for dinner, etc.

Honestly, I didn't realize veganism covered honey created by bees. Kind of ridiculous, in my opinion. If they want to get fancy by saying animal byproducts also cover insects, I guess we could get technical and say that breathing uses oxygen that was created by plants that were pollenated/whatever by insects.

I get really worked up on this subject, mostly because it's clear that the majority of people I know who practice these things aren't really doing it for the cause of the animals, but rather because it's trendy/indie.

Jen said...

I'm a vegetarian, and I do strive to only buy products that contain no animal products and had no animal testing, and I applaud method's animal-friendly stance. That's one major reason I buy the products, in addition to protecting my own animals (and us) at home by not using toxic chemicals. I didn't know until now that "other" dryer sheets normally contain animal fat! I don't use them anyway, as I use method liquid softener, but gross. No one tells you this stuff, and if you don't research, you'd never know you were supporting cruelty. I'm not personally opposed to honey, but I can see how mass production of honey could be viewed as cruel in the same way that animal factory farming is cruel, and I respect that view.

In any case, I wish method had responded in the same favorable way to all of us who begged them to keep aircare alive!! ;)

khad said...

I'm vegan but not insane. I never complained about the product but simply did not purchase it. That being said, check out this great article about why honey is not vegan:

"Honeybees are in the phylum Arthropoda--the same as lobsters and crabs. So in addition to crustaceans, if honeybees don't merit respect, that would also leave earthworms vulnerable to dissection in biology classes. Similarly, iscallops, snails, and oysters would be fair game--they are not as "high up" on the evolutionary scale as bees."

http://www.vegetus.org/honey/honey.htm

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