Out of curiosity - when did you work there Matryoshka? I also worked for TBS, but it was close to 18 years ago, so perhaps their way of operating has changed? I know that when I worked there the business overall was incredibly conscious about sustainability and fair trade issues on such an overall level (I gave a few examples in the other thread about it, won't repeat myself here).

Also, TBS never actually marketed themselves as using wholly organic or even natural ingredients, or at least they didn't when I worked there. We were encouraged to inform people of what went into the products - a particular example of it was the White Musk perfume - which was intentionally marketed as a synthetic alternative to natural musk. But as this was at a time when there was little demand for organic, synthetic free cosmetics, they were groundbreaking simply for their stance on using animal cruelty free ingredients (and demanding transparency from their suppliers too).

To be honest, I think that a company like TBS is a poor comparison to Nestle. Nestle, like certain petroleum distributors whom we won't mention, are concerned only with their bottom line and making a profit. Generally, if they implement a sustainable or ethical policy it is an inherently marketable one - something that looks good in the public eye but doesn't make any impact on their overall behaviour (or profit margin). TBS spent a lot of money on sustainable infrastructure and developing fair trade relationships etc, long before anyone even knew what that meant, and some of the strategies they implemented meant a reduction in profit margin. They also funnelled profits back into education and campaigning.

I think it's utterly unrealistic (and counter-productive) to expect that any company operate in a way that is not mindful of profits. A business that is as sustainable or ethically conscious as they can possibly be whilst still maintaining a profit (ie: is still in operation), is of far greater value than a business that cannot make a profit because it costs more than they can make to be ethical. What's the point of a company being wholly ethical if it can't influence the marketplace by staying in business?