I have been critical of Method for not putting their money where their mouth is and for sometimes taking ownership of other’s achievements. I tended to favor 7^th Gen and their transparency policy, mainly by disclosing all their ingredients and being a pioneer of Corporate Social Responsibility under Jeffrey Hollender’s leadership.

In our efforts to promote sustainable practices along with bringing to market safe, potent and natural products, calling on companies that best represent this effort is not always well regarded but I feel it is a as important as singling out the dirty ones.

So it is time to praise Method for stepping up not only for greening their household and personal care product lines, but also for being a leading socially responsible company.

Method: green and sustainable.

Kudos to the skippers, good cops and others for formulating greener and greener products. Kudos to the leadership team for disclosing the ingredients in all of Method product lines. Kudos to the green giants and others for lowering Method’s environmental footprint. And kudos to everyone for building successful partnerships. And that is probably what will set Method apart from their competitors – this and retaining talents – in years to come, which has become an increasingly important success factor in the FMCG space that requires a constant input of creativity. When Clorox and P&G buy a brand to grow their market share or reach, Method seems to have chosen to partner with topnotch experts and suppliers to expand their own. And it seems to add considerable value to the organization as this network of top green and sustainability experts, researchers and scientists are helping them stay on tracks, reach their sustainability goals, lower their environmental footprint and create even better products.

Method: a key member of the B-Corp family

One action is quite telling of the company’s mission and values – and to be honest, triggered this post. Assemblyman Huffman introduced a bill earlier this year that will establish a new form of corporate entity known as Benefit Corporation. There are probably over 100,000 businesses that operate on the principles in the country and California is home to the largest concentration of these companies that measure their performance not just by the money they make but also by their environmental and social impact. If passed, California would be the 5^th state to enact such legislation. There has been tremendous support for it, with many investors, businesses and other professionals rallying to Sacramento to show their support and offer their own testimony, a major factor in convincing committees. One company has answered Erik Trojian’s call every time and to add their voice to hearings both in the Assembly and in the Senate: Method and Ryan Williams’ (Method’s Good Cop) testimony was very compelling in passing the Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee yesterday.
In the photo: First row in light grey business suit A. Jared Huffman, far left Erik Trojian, B-Corp Policy Director, last row, third from right Adam Lowry, first from right, Marc Thibault. Click to enlarge.

So my hat off to you all at Method Home and thank you for stepping up and showing you are more than a branding genius.

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