Today, I'm looking at another shopping research resource, GOODS UNITE US, and another product - potting soil.
GOODS UNITE US
Site Description: "We are a dedicated group of data analysts, researchers, and democracy advocates, bringing transparency, accuracy, and accountability to corporate political influence — and giving power back to everyday people."
You can download this as an app, but I prefer researching on my computer browser. I do, however, have the app on my phone and it has come in handy when I am running errands and have questions.
For my GOODS UNITE US search example, I decided to check back on Scott's Miracle-Gro. I checked on this company last summer - in this post, (Scott's was one of the BIG donors for 47's wasteful and embarrassing birthday parade.)
I like that right off the bat, GOODS UNITES US shows how the company donates. (You can click on any image to see it larger.)
They break down the donations. Do the donations come from the company or employees?
They also show alternative choices. This might work for some things, but it missed the boat in the Scott's Miracle-Gro example. They show Toro as the best alternative, but I'm not looking for a mower. I don't think Toro sells soil or soil enhancements. I don't even recognize those other companies.
GOODS UNITE US is good for a super quick look at how a company donates - that's their focus - donations. There aren't a lot of extra details about the companies they profile. They don't list the companies different products or what else they might be associated with. Like most of the resources, they only give you a piece of the story. I will continue to use GOODS UNITE US, but I will use it along with other resources.
Looking Into Other Potting Soils
Another place GOODS UNITE US falls short is something similar to lots of the resources - the companies they profile is limited.
For example, I watched this video rating and reviewing 14 different potting soils.
On this video, three different Miracle-Gro products, which I'd prefer not to use based on their policies, came in 1st, 3rd, and 4th place.
In second place was Vigaro, from the Vigaroco company. GOODS UNITE US didn't have any information on them. So, if I want to know about their policies, I will need to look to other resources. However, Vigaro is sold exclusively by Home Depot, which I avoid due to their ICE policies. So that's off my list.
GOODS UNITE US did have Home Depot ratings. They also had an additional statement about Home Depot - "Based on Goods Unite Us’s independent analysis, this company is one of the top 25 contributors to the group of Senators who flipped the Supreme Court conservative." Miracle Grow helped flip the ROE decision. They also helped give the president more power than is right. I definitely avoid Home Depot. Sadly, I have a relative I dearly love who works in their corporate office. As much as I love her, I still won't shop there.
The 5th place soil was Recipe 420 by EB Stone & Son Inc. That company is not in GOODS UNITE US. From the EB Stone site - "2016 marked our 100th year as a family owned company. We’ve grown a lot since 1916, when E.B.Stone himself started making fertilizer in San Jose, California. Thank you for buying our products and helping us remain the great company we are today!" I even searched for info on this company in Open Secrets, another resource I plan to talk more about soon. All I could find on them was a $5000 donation to a local California representative (a Democrat) in 2016. The donation is somehow related to the MAKE IT IN AMERICA PAC. This sounds like a good one, but unfortunately it's only sold in California, Washington, Oregon, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and Idaho.
The Soil I Plan to Use This Year
The 6th place soil was Fox Farms Ocean Forest. That's a company based in California. There's no info about it on GOODS UNITE US. There's nothing about the company on Open Secrets. There's nothing about the founder and CEO, Willy Winer, either. I did find a cool interview with him on PBS. It's sold in lots of big box stores, including stores I avoid. It's also sold at ACE HARDWARE, which based on research I did a while back, is a store that I do use. So this is my winner!
Ace Hardware is profiled on GOODS UNITE US. Their donations are minimal and from senior employees, not the company. They give 55% Republican and 45% Democrat, with trump and Bernie Sanders being the primary recipients. Since ACE is a franchise, it's helpful to know who the owner is at the ACE you go to. I happen to know a very good left leaning ACE franchise owner. It's not close to me, but one of these days, I'll stop by and pick up a bunch of soil.
SEEDS
Since this post has a garden theme, you might also be interested in this video from THE WOKE GINGER about seed companies. He tells you 5 seed companies that are some of the good guys out there!!!
EVEN BETTER... COMPOST!
If you REALLY want to be intentional, you could have an even better potting soil by learning to compost!!!! Your food waste and yard debris would be put to good use. If you are gardening in a small raised bed, this video has an interesting idea - Garden Compost with Thrifted Strainer Pot. I see those strainer pots at thrift stores all the time. I might have to try this.
MORE ABOUT SCOTT'S MIRACLE-GRO
THE WOKE GINGER has included additional information about Scott's Miracle-Gro a number of times. Here's one on TikTok. Here are some of the video highlights:
- They gave $250,000 to trump's inauguration.
- They gave $500,000 to the Make America Great Again Pac
- They've made big donations to Republicans since 2002.
- Despite being super conservative they own a cannibis subsidiary.
WHO TO CONTACT
Even with companies that seem to align closest to our values, we can still have an impact by contacting them and letting them know what we think - what we like and/or how they might improve.
The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company Corporate Office14111 Scottslawn Rd. Marysville, OH 43041Phone: (937)644-0011Website: www.scotts.com
FoxFarm Soil and Fertilizer Company1900 Bendixsen Street,Samoa, CA 95564800-436-9327
Even with companies that seem to align closest to our values, we can still have an impact by contacting them and letting them know what we think - what we like and/or how they might improve.
The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company
Corporate Office
14111 Scottslawn Rd. Marysville, OH 43041
Phone: (937)644-0011
Website: www.scotts.com
FoxFarm Soil and Fertilizer Company
1900 Bendixsen Street,
Samoa, CA 95564
800-436-9327