June 21, 2004
The Yankee way | Kennebunk-based Tom's of Maine earns new recognition for its combination of social responsibility and business savvy
By Michaela Cavallaro
When Tom Chappell was a child, his mother emphasized the Yankee virtue of reticence about one's own good deeds. "My mother was from Dover-Foxcroft," he says, "and as a young boy she would tell me, 'If you want to be known for doing something good, people will find out about that ˆ you don't have to go out and boast about it.'"
Chappell, of course, grew up to found Tom's of Maine, the Kennebunk natural care products company that is one of the pioneers of socially responsible business practices in Maine and nationwide. The values Chappell and his wife, Kate, hold dear are the foundation for the company, which began in 1970 with one product, Clearlake, a non-phosphate liquid laundry detergent. Later, the company developed toothpaste, baby shampoo, deodorant, mouthwash and shaving cream ˆ all concocted from natural ingredients, without testing on animals.
As the company grew, Tom Chappell says, he and Kate struggled with how much, and in what ways, they ought to communicate those values to retailers and consumers. Finally, Chappell says, they realized that "There is an acceptable way to make your values known, and that's just to tell people who you are and what you believe in. We talk about our beliefs and print them on all of our business cards, for example. That's different," he adds, "from my preaching, saying, 'You should become a peacenik,' or you should become something for someone else's political purpose."
The combination of those values and a heaping dose of business savvy earned Tom's of Maine the 2004 Trailblazer Award from Maine Businesses for Social Responsibility. A new award, the Trailblazer was created this year to recognize the sizeable impact Tom's has had on other businesses throughout the state. "Tom's is still setting the standard for performance," explains Cheryl Bascomb, MEBSR's incoming board president and marketing director at Berry, Dunn, McNeil & Parker in Portland. "They've gone well above and beyond the criteria of the Eagle Feather. They continue to be both thought leaders and practice leaders when it comes to socially responsible business practices ˆ in the community, the environment and the workplace."
According to Chappell, the key to Tom's success is that customers, and the retailers who serve them, appreciate the company's products. "Social responsibility is, in itself, not enough of a platform to be successful," he says. "You have to have a product that is efficacious ˆ it has to have the benefits and attributes that the customer is looking for."
Social responsibility, he suggests, is a method of doing business, rather than a business strategy. Socially responsible companies must still make, as Chappell puts it, "a good financial proposition" to their customers. That approach led Tom's to become a $35 million enterprise last year, with 2004 projections of $43 million to $45 million.
Along the way, the company has promoted causes it cares about, such as water quality and the importance of dental health. In the latter program, "Dental Health for All," which Tom's launched in January, the company provides grants and free toothbrushes and toothpaste to dental clinics. One of its customers, Warwick, R.I.-based Brooks Pharmacy, has created in-store displays featuring Tom's products and oral-health education materials, and promotes the program on the front page of its newspaper circulars. The campaign has done wonders for Tom's business with Brooks ˆ Tom's now represents seven percent of the toothpaste market at Brooks, a figure Chappell says is "growing rapidly"; only at Hannaford stores do the company's products earn a larger market share.
The program, and others like it, work, according to Chappell, because they are authentic representations of the company's values ˆ and authenticity, he says, is ultimately important to consumers. "We're using [programs like 'Dental Health for All'] to raise awareness and create bigger and better commercial opportunities for our products," he says. "That's very different than saying, we just do business the same old way, and slapping a label [on a product] that says socially responsible."
Chappell, of course, grew up to found Tom's of Maine, the Kennebunk natural care products company that is one of the pioneers of socially responsible business practices in Maine and nationwide. The values Chappell and his wife, Kate, hold dear are the foundation for the company, which began in 1970 with one product, Clearlake, a non-phosphate liquid laundry detergent. Later, the company developed toothpaste, baby shampoo, deodorant, mouthwash and shaving cream ˆ all concocted from natural ingredients, without testing on animals.
As the company grew, Tom Chappell says, he and Kate struggled with how much, and in what ways, they ought to communicate those values to retailers and consumers. Finally, Chappell says, they realized that "There is an acceptable way to make your values known, and that's just to tell people who you are and what you believe in. We talk about our beliefs and print them on all of our business cards, for example. That's different," he adds, "from my preaching, saying, 'You should become a peacenik,' or you should become something for someone else's political purpose."
The combination of those values and a heaping dose of business savvy earned Tom's of Maine the 2004 Trailblazer Award from Maine Businesses for Social Responsibility. A new award, the Trailblazer was created this year to recognize the sizeable impact Tom's has had on other businesses throughout the state. "Tom's is still setting the standard for performance," explains Cheryl Bascomb, MEBSR's incoming board president and marketing director at Berry, Dunn, McNeil & Parker in Portland. "They've gone well above and beyond the criteria of the Eagle Feather. They continue to be both thought leaders and practice leaders when it comes to socially responsible business practices ˆ in the community, the environment and the workplace."
According to Chappell, the key to Tom's success is that customers, and the retailers who serve them, appreciate the company's products. "Social responsibility is, in itself, not enough of a platform to be successful," he says. "You have to have a product that is efficacious ˆ it has to have the benefits and attributes that the customer is looking for."
Social responsibility, he suggests, is a method of doing business, rather than a business strategy. Socially responsible companies must still make, as Chappell puts it, "a good financial proposition" to their customers. That approach led Tom's to become a $35 million enterprise last year, with 2004 projections of $43 million to $45 million.
Along the way, the company has promoted causes it cares about, such as water quality and the importance of dental health. In the latter program, "Dental Health for All," which Tom's launched in January, the company provides grants and free toothbrushes and toothpaste to dental clinics. One of its customers, Warwick, R.I.-based Brooks Pharmacy, has created in-store displays featuring Tom's products and oral-health education materials, and promotes the program on the front page of its newspaper circulars. The campaign has done wonders for Tom's business with Brooks ˆ Tom's now represents seven percent of the toothpaste market at Brooks, a figure Chappell says is "growing rapidly"; only at Hannaford stores do the company's products earn a larger market share.
The program, and others like it, work, according to Chappell, because they are authentic representations of the company's values ˆ and authenticity, he says, is ultimately important to consumers. "We're using [programs like 'Dental Health for All'] to raise awareness and create bigger and better commercial opportunities for our products," he says. "That's very different than saying, we just do business the same old way, and slapping a label [on a product] that says socially responsible."
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