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Tag: Unilever

  • Ben & Jerry’s co-founder quits, says independence “gone” under British giant Unilever

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    The co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s has resigned from the ice cream brand after saying his company, known for its social activism, has lost “the independence to pursue our values” under the ownership of British giant Unilever.

    Jerry Greenfield’s announcement follows the company’s failure in 2022 to block Unilever from selling its ice cream in West Bank settlements, which Ben & Jerry’s said would run counter to its values.

    Greenfield said he could “no longer, in good conscience, and after 47 years, remain an employee” of the Vermont-based company, according to a statement published on X by co-founder Ben Cohen late Tuesday.

    Jerry Greenfield, right, and Ben Cohen, co-founders of Ben & Jerry’s, partnered with MoveOn to hand out free ice cream at Franklin Square in Philadelphia during their Scoop The Vote tour to get-out-the-vote for Vice President Kamala Harris and Democrats down-ballot on Sept. 16, 2024.

    Lisa Lake / Getty Images for MoveOn


    The brand was founded by the two school friends in 1978 and acquired by Unilever in 2000. It is now owned by the Magnum Ice Cream Company, a Unilever subsidiary.

    Greenfield said his company “has been silenced, sidelined for fear of upsetting those in power” at a time when the current U.S. administration is “attacking civil rights, voting rights, the rights of immigrants, women and the LGBTQ community.”

    “It’s profoundly disappointing to come to the conclusion that that independence, the very basis of our sale to Unilever, is gone,” he added.

    Cohen said in his post that Greenfield’s “legacy deserves to be true to our values, not silenced by (Magnum).”

    A Magnum spokesperson said the company remains committed to the Ben & Jerry’s mission and legacy.

    “We disagree with (Greenfield’s) perspective and have sought to engage both co-founders in a constructive conversation on how to strengthen Ben & Jerry’s powerful values-based position in the world,” the spokesperson said. “We remain committed to Ben & Jerry’s unique three-part mission – product, economic and social – and remain focused on carrying forward the legacy of peace, love, and ice cream of this iconic, much-loved brand,” he added.

    In May, the 74-year-old Cohen was removed from a U.S. Senate hearing after shouting “Congress pays for bombs to kill children in Gaza” and startling Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr.

    A longtime critic of Israeli policy, Cohen last year joined prominent Jewish figures in an open letter opposing the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC.

    Unilever is in the process of spinning off Magnum, which is expected to begin standalone operations by mid-November.

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  • Ben & Jerry’s board chair calls for “immediate” ceasefire in Gaza

    Ben & Jerry’s board chair calls for “immediate” ceasefire in Gaza

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    Israel-Hamas war surpasses 100 days


    Israel-Hamas war surpasses 100 days

    01:48

    Ben & Jerry’s leadership is calling for a “permanent and immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, with its board of directors chair decrying that the “corporate world has been silent” about the conflict.

    Ben & Jerry’s board chair Anuradha Mittal on Tuesday told the Financial Times that the ice cream maker’s call for peace in Gaza is “consistent with the company’s history and values.” The interview marks one of the few instances when a U.S. company has publicly supported an end to the Israel-Hamas war, the FT noted.

    “From Iraq to Ukraine [the company] has consistently stood up for these principles,” Mittal told the publication. “Today is no different as we call for peace and a permanent and immediate ceasefire.”

    Mittal is also the founder and executive director of the Oakland Institute, an advocacy group focused on human rights, environmental conservation policies and other issues.

    Ben & Jerry’s has a long history of openly taking progressive stances on social and political issues, a habit that helped define the Vermont-based brand in its early years. But that activism has also occasionally cause conflict with corporate parent Unilever, which bought Ben & Jerry’s in 2000.

    In 2022, Ben & Jerry’s sued Unilever for selling its business in Israel and the country’s contest West Bank region to a local licensee, arguing that the sale was at odds to Unilever’s promise to end sales of its products in the region in 2021 as a show of support for the Palestinian cause. 

    The disagreement culminated in Unilever freezing the salaries of Ben & Jerry’s boardmembers as a “pressure tactic” to force the company to acquiesce to the Israeli ice cream deal, Reuters reported. 

    Unilever did not immediately reply to CBS MoneyWatch’s request for comment. 

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  • Unilever PLC 1H EPS EUR1.40

    Unilever PLC 1H EPS EUR1.40

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    By Joe Hoppe

    Unilever said Tuesday that its second-quarter sales growth beat expectations, as price increases outweighed a slight decline in volumes, and it raised full-year guidance.
    

    

    The Anglo-Dutch retailer–which owns consumer brands like Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, Dove soap and Domestos cleaning products–posted underlying sales growth of 7.9% for the second quarter of the year, with a decrease of 0.3% in volumes and an increase of 8.2% in prices. Analysts’ consensus for underlying sales growth was 6.4%, according to a forecast from the company.
    

    “As underlying price growth has sequentially moderated from 13.3% in the fourth quarter of 2022, volumes were virtually flat with a step-up in performance in Beauty & Wellbeing and Personal Care offsetting volume declines elsewhere,” it said.
    

    For the first half as a whole, sales growth came in at 9.1%, beating the company’s compiled consensus of 8.3%.
    

    The company said first-half pretax profit was 5.27 billion euros ($5.83 billion) compared with EUR4.36 billion a year earlier.
    

    Turnover came in at EUR30.43 billion, including EUR15.74 billion in the second quarter. Analysts expected half-year and second-quarter turnover of EUR30.34 billion and EUR15.59 billion, respectively.
    

    The company raised its guidance for full-year underlying sales growth for 2023 to be above 5%. It had previously guided at the upper end of 3%-5%.
    

    The board declared a quarterly dividend of 42.68 European cents a share, flat on the first half of 2022.
    

    Write to Joe Hoppe at joseph.hoppe@wsj.com
    

    

    

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    Dove, Tresemme Dry Shampoos Recalled Due to Possible Carcinogen
    
			
    Dove, Tresemme Dry Shampoos Recalled Due to Possible Carcinogen
    
			
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          By Cara Murez 
          
    

    HealthDay Reporter
        
    

    
    
      
    

    
    

    TUESDAY, Oct. 25, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Unilever announced Monday that it has recalled certain dry shampoo sprays because they may contain elevated levels of benzene.
    

    
    

    The propellant used in the products, which are sold under the brand names Dove, Nexxus, Suave, TIGI (Rockaholic and Bed Head) and TRESemmé, appears to be the source of the benzene.
    

    
    

    Benzene is a human carcinogen that may cause leukemia, blood cancer of the blood marrow and life-threatening blood disorders.
    

    
    

    Still, daily exposure to benzene in the recalled products at the levels detected in testing “would not be expected to cause adverse health consequences,” Unilever noted in its recall notice.
    

    
    

    This is not the only benzene-linked recall by Unilever in recent months. The company, which makes a variety of beauty and food products, recalled two Suave-brand 24-hour protection aerosol antiperspirants in March after it found benzene in samples during an internal review, CBS News reported.
    

    
    

    Unilever is also not the only company with these issues.
    

    
    

    Procter & Gamble recalled aerosol dry shampoo and conditioner last December from six of its brands because of benzene. Three other companies also recalled products this year for the same reason, as did others last year, CBS News reported.
    

    
    

    Benzene is found in both gasoline and cigarette smoke. People can also absorb the chemical by touching petroleum products or eating contaminated foods and beverages, CBS News reported.
    

    
    

    Anyone who has the affected aerosol dry shampoo products at home should visit UnileverRecall.com to seek reimbursement.
    

    
    

    
    
          More information
        
    

    
    

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has additional information on the recall.
    

    
    

     
    

    
    

     
    

    
    

    SOURCE: CBS News
    

    
    
      
    

    
    

    
    
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    Beware of Dove, Tresemmé ! Unilever recalls products, says contaminated by cancer-causing chemical
    
			
    Beware of Dove, Tresemmé ! Unilever recalls products, says contaminated by cancer-causing chemical
    
			
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    Unilever has said that dry shampoo brands including Dove are contaminated with a cancerous chemical called benzene, a Bloomberg report stated. The list of brands recalled by the consumer goods company also included names like Nexxus, Suave, Tresemmé and Rockaholic and Bed Head dry shampoo maker Tigi, an official notice posted on the Food and Drug Administration’s website Friday read. According to media reports, the recall pertains to products made before October 2021.  
    

    The problem with aerosols has largely appeared to be from the propellants that are used to spray the products from the cans. As per Unilever, this was the case with its dry shampoo recall. The company has not released the amount of benzene content that was found in the products, and has said that it recalled them out of caution.
    

    According to the report, this isn’t the first time that dry shampoos have been pointed out as a problem. P&G had recalled its Pantene and Herbal Essences dry shampoos in December last year, citing benzene contamination.
    

    Valisure Chief Executive Officer David Light said that it unfortunately makes sense that other consumer-product categories, like aerosol dry shampoos, could be heavily affected by benzene contamination. The officer added that they are actively investigating this area.
    

    The Food and Drug Administration has said that daily exposure to benzene in the recalled products is expected to cause adverse health consequences. “Exposure to benzene can result in leukemia and other blood cancers”, Bloomberg quoted the agency.
    

    Also read: Hindustan Unilever shares jump 2% ahead of Q2 results. Here’s what analysts say
    

    Also read: Why Hindustan Unilever’s Q2 earnings failed to excite the market today  
    

    

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    Unilever issues dry shampoo recall over cancer risk
    
			
    Unilever issues dry shampoo recall over cancer risk
    
			
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    Unilever issues dry shampoo recall over cancer risk – CBS News

    



    
    
    

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                    Unilever has voluntarily recalled nearly 20 dry shampoo aerosol products over elevated levels of benzene, which is known to cause cancer. Unilever makes products under the brand names Dove, Nexxus, Suave and TRESemmé.
                      
    

    

    
    

        
    

    

    
  
    

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