You're at the drugstore.
Your lips are dry. Your soul is pure.
You want NATURAL lip balm. None of that chemical nonsense.
Then you see Burt's Bees.
The iconic yellow tube.
The bearded guy.
"100% natural origin."
"Kind to skin & planet."
You pick it up. You feel good.
You're making the right choice.
Plot twist:
You just bought lip balm from Clorox.
Yes. That Clorox.
The bleach company.
The people behind Pine-Sol, Glad trash bags, and substances that could absolutely remove paint from a wall.
Somehow, the brand built on bees, simplicity, and vibes is owned by a corporation whose flagship product is designed to kill everything it touches.
The Backstory (AKA: This Actually Was Beautiful Once)
Burt's Bees started with a story so wholesome it feels fake—but it's not.
In the early 1980s, Burt Shavitz, a former Manhattan photojournalist, left city life to live in a 300-square-foot turkey coop in Maine.
No electricity. No running water. Just bees. And peace.
One day, Burt picked up a hitchhiker in his yellow pickup truck.
Her name was Roxanne Quimby, an artist from San Francisco who had also escaped city life for the woods.
They vibed.
Burt knew bees. Roxanne knew recipes.
They started making candles. Then lip balm.
- $200 at their first craft fair
- $20,000 by the end of year one
Boom. Burt's Bees was born.
Grassroots. Authentic. Mission-driven.
By the 1990s:
- The brand bounced from an abandoned schoolhouse to a bowling alley
- Eventually landed in North Carolina
- The lip balm became iconic
- "Natural personal care" was the whole identity
Then in 2007?
Clorox bought Burt's Bees for $925 million.
Now Burt's Bees sits comfortably next to bleach, disinfectant wipes, and industrial-strength cleaning chemicals.
The irony is doing backflips.
So… Who Is Clorox?
Clorox was founded in 1913 to make bleach.
That's it.
That was the mission.
Over time, they expanded into… literally everything:
- Clorox Bleach (obviously)
- Pine-Sol (floor cleaner)
- Glad (trash bags)
- Hidden Valley (ranch dressing—yes, really)
- Brita (water filters)
- Fresh Step (cat litter)
- RenewLife (probiotics)
- Burt's Bees (your "natural" lip balm)
Clorox is a publicly traded corporation pulling in $7+ billion a year.
Major shareholders?
- Vanguard
- BlackRock
- State Street
The Big Three.
Again.
So no—you're not supporting Burt in a turkey coop.
You're funding a chemical conglomerate.
What Happened to Burt?
This part hurts.
In 1999, Roxanne bought out Burt's one-third stake in the company for:
- $130,000
- A house in Maine
Why?
Because Burt had an affair with an employee, and Roxanne kicked him out of operations.
When Clorox bought Burt's Bees in 2007 for $925 million, Burt received an additional $4 million payout.
That's it.
The man whose FACE is still on every product walked away with about $4 million total, while the company sold for nearly a billion dollars.
Burt went back to Maine.
Lived quietly with his golden retrievers.
Died in 2015.
Meanwhile, Clorox kept using his likeness to sell "natural" products.
Cool system.
The PFAS Scandal (Yeah… There's One)
And now for the really fun part.
In 2022, Burt's Bees was hit with a class-action lawsuit alleging their products contain PFAS—aka "forever chemicals."
Quick refresher:
PFAS are toxic, synthetic chemicals that:
- Don't break down
- Accumulate in your body
- Have been linked to cancer, liver damage, thyroid disease, and reproductive issues
Not exactly beekeeper-coded.
The lawsuit claims Burt's Bees products contained PFAS despite being marketed as:
- "100% natural"
- "Consciously crafted with ingredients from nature"
- "Free from chemicals of concern"
Independent lab testing allegedly found PFAS in:
- Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer
- Burt's Bees Nourishing Mascara
- Burt's Bees Eyeshadow (449 ppm)
- Burt's Bees Satin Lipstick
Customers asked directly if PFAS were present.
The company said no.
The tests said yes.
The lawsuit is ongoing—but here's what we do know:
The "natural" brand owned by the bleach company allegedly had toxic forever chemicals in products you put on your face.
That's… not ideal.
Why This Matters
The branding is doing a LOT of heavy lifting.
- Burt's face is still there
- The word "natural" is still everywhere
- The eco-friendly messaging hasn't changed
What you won't see?
"Owned by Clorox."
Because if the tube said "A Clorox Product" on the front, you might pause.
You might wonder how the bleach people suddenly became skincare gurus.
So Clorox keeps the branding.
Keeps the beekeeper aesthetic.
Keeps the trust.
And most consumers never know.
You think you're supporting a small Maine beekeeper.
You're actually funding a chemical conglomerate.
How Buy'r Fixes This
You shouldn't need to deep-dive corporate filings to buy lip balm.
Scan Burt's Bees with Buy'r and instantly see:
- Parent Brand: Burt's Bees
- Owner: The Clorox Company (NYSE: CLX)
- Type: Publicly traded corporation
- Major Shareholders: Vanguard, BlackRock, State Street
No detective work required.
Now you decide.
The Bigger Picture
This isn't just Burt's Bees.
- Tom's of Maine? Colgate-Palmolive
- The Body Shop? L'Oréal (yes, animal testing)
- Ben & Jerry's? Unilever
- Blue Buffalo? General Mills
Big corporations buy small "natural" brands, keep the branding, and never tell you.
It works because we want to believe we're supporting the underdog.
And they exploit that.
The Bottom Line
Burt's Bees looks natural and independent.
It's not.
A bearded beekeeper started something beautiful.
A chemical company bought it.
Now there are lawsuits alleging "natural" products contain forever chemicals.
I'm not telling you what to buy.
But you should know what you're actually buying.
Most people think they're supporting Burt in his turkey coop.
They're funding Clorox—and the Big Three asset managers.
So next time you're shopping for lip balm?
Pull out your phone.
Scan the barcode.
See who really owns it.
Because if the bleach company is hiding behind a bearded beekeeper…
you should probably know about it.
