Tom's of Maine

Tom's of Maine has made ingredient commitments to lower its environmental impact, including by avoiding parabens, phthalates, and select other petrochemical-based ingredients. Its parent company, Colgate-Palmolive, claims that it sources almost 100% certified palm oil, but its sourcing has been criticized in the past by organizations such as Rainforest Action Network. Commons didn't find evidence of any environmentally-harmful ingredients in this brand's products. It acknowledges its use of SLS and shares it uses plant-based derivations instead of petro-based. Its products don't appear to hold any certifications, but they incorporate bio-based and/or biodegradable ingredients, most are vegan, and all are gluten-free. Tom's of Maine is a B Corp.

Tom's of Maine and its parent company, Colgate-Palmolive, have made efforts to reduce virgin plastic and plastic waste in its product containers, including by piloting the first recyclable toothpaste tube and by switching to 100% recycled plastic for many product contianers. Tom's of Maine also uses FSC-certified cardboard for its packaging.

Tom's of Maine shares brief information on its brand-level energy strategy, and its parent company, Colgate-Palmolive shares detailed overall information. Colgate-Palmolive uses a majority of renewable energy to power its production sites and corporate offices, and has detailed targets for expanding its use of renewable energy to 100% by 2030. At the brand-level, Tom's of Maine has achieved 100% renewable electricity in one key production site, and is working to improve this further. Colgate-Palmolive implements energy efficiency measures in its production sites and corporate offices. It also implements water conservation measures, including setting targets to reduce water intensity and aiming for net zero water by 2030. Tom's of Maine has a global production span, which is standard for the industry.

Tom's of Maine and its parent company have worked to avert waste by redesigning toothpaste packaging to be recyclable. Its parent company, Colgate-Palmolive, states that 60% of its toothpaste SKUs globally are now recyclable tubes and it aims to reach 100% by the end of 2025. However, there has been consumer and industry criticism of these new tubes, as many recycling facilities aren't able to process them, which leads to them going to landfill or incineration. Tom's of Maine offers a takeback partnership with Terracycle, called Natural Care Brigades, which allows customers to send in select product containers from any brand to be recycled.

Colgate-Palmolive, the parent company of Tom's of Maine, prioritizes minimizing production waste and 36 of its facilities are TRUE Zero Waste certified. It's unclear if Tom's of Maine releases new items seasonally or otherwise frequently, which can create excess waste.

Commons is still evaluating this brand's marketing emails.

Tom's of Maine has a prominent sustainability page with comprehensive details on its climate strategy. It also publishes a detailed annual report alongside the one published by its parent company, Colgate-Palmolive. Both contain a clear, impact-driven strategy and progress reporting. Its last annual report was published in 2023. Tom's of Maine shares a complete list of ingredients used in its products, overall and on a per product basis.

Colgate-Palmolive, the parent company of Tom's of Maine, internally measures and publicly reports its overall company-level emissions in partnership with, or with auditing from, a third party. It includes a breakdown by scope and identifies its top driver of emissions. The last reporting period was 2023. In this most recent update, Colgate-Palmolive's estimated total emissions footprint was 46,683,986 tons CO2e. Tom's of Maine also provides its own brand-level emissions data, which is unusual but provides welcome added transparency. Its 2022 estimated total was 74,646 tons CO2e.

Colgate-Palmolive, the parent company of Tom's of Maine, has SBTi-approved emissions reduction targets for the medium-term (5-10 years) and long-term (10+ years). It has reported on its progress within the past year, and is on track for some of its targets. Tom's of Maine also tracks emissions reduction efforts at its brand-level and publishes annual updates. We appreciate this brand-level accountability. Commons couldn't find evidence that this brand offsets any emissions.

Tom's of Maine publishes limited information about its supply chain partners, disclosing some geographic locations. Its parent company, Colgate-Palmolive, publicly shares a supplier code of conduct, which addresses forced labor and child labor, and includes environmental clauses. The wording in this document is unclear at points, and it's hard to tell what is mandated versus recommended. Its code of conduct doesn't disallow unauthorized subcontracting, ensure the right to collective bargaining where not allowed by law, ensure a living wage, or establish grievance mechanisms. Colgate-Palmolive doesn't have a stated policy of regularly auditing its supply chain partners. This may increase human and environmental risks.

Colgate-Palmolive, the parent company of Tom's of Maine, doesn't openly disclose its climate-obstructive trade association memberships. It's a member of 1 large climate-obstructive trade associations: Personal Care Products Council. Colgate-Palmolive isn't a member of advocacy organizations advancing climate policy. It doesn't employ any state lobbyists and didn't donate more than $100k to climate-obstructive candidates or PACs from 2018-2024.