Company Contrast: Pennington

Each week 2ndVote takes a look at popular companies that either score well or score poorly  and then try to provide alternatives that either better align with the 2ndVote values or should be avoided to the best of your ability. This series is called The Company Contrast, and the companies we will be focusing on this week are Scotts Miracle Gro (2.15) and Pennington (Central Garden & Pet Co. – 3.03).

Summer is in full swing and lawn lovers everywhere are working on maintaining those crisp, green yards. But even purchasing a bag of weed and feed can be used toward making your 2nd vote count!

We start our analysis with Scotts Miracle Gro, which has been around since 1868. With a focus on lawn, garden and pest control products, Scotts is a popular pick among gardeners and lawn perfectionists everywhere, and with $4.93 billion in net sales for 2021, you can see how. Some of Scotts bigger actions have them leaning somewhat left. For instance, they donated to various chapters of United Way and Girls Inc which supports abortion. They also partnered with the YWCA which opposes religious liberty and the 2nd amendment and scored a 100 on the HRC Corporate Equality Index. Scotts Miracle Gro Company also donated $25,000 to the Nature Conservancy which supports cap-and-trade, a carbon tax and the 2015 Paris climate deal. They aren’t all bad however, with support for Salvation Army and conservative environmentalist policies.

Alternatively, Pennington, owned by The Central Garden & Pet Co., has been in business since 1980. With $3.3 billion in net sales for 2021, Central’s values of being “built on integrity, honesty and trust” seems to be working well. Although there is no charity linked to Pennington or Central Garden & Pet Co., there are still several charitable actions documented within their website – most of which are focused on pet care and animal welfare, such as roughly $1 million to the ASPCA, the Animal Rescue Foundation and more. Even more impressive, is the 83 million plus lbs of ocean plastic and recycled materials used in pet & people cushions, reduction of 11 billion gallons of water used through Grass Seed innovation, and over 10 years of conserving native fish and coral habitats. For these reasons, Central Garden & Pet scores well with 2nd Vote for environmentalism.

Wherever you decide to cast your 2nd Vote, we urge you to remember the value each dollar holds in the pockets of corporate America and with those that would see this great nation fall to earn a few bucks. Support those that would stand firm on integrity and moral values so that we can preserve our country for other generations.

EDITORS NOTE: This 2ndVote column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

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