A Corporation Doing The Right Thing

If you've read this blog for very long, then you know I don't have a whole lot of respect for most corporations. I believe almost every one of them will abuse their employees, their customers, their communities and their country just to squeeze out another dime of profit (regardless of how much profit they are already showing). That's why I was pleasantly surprised and pleased to see one corporation's response to the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

Just like the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska, the growing oil slick in the Gulf is starting to affect wildlife, especially marine animals and birds. Many of these animals, like turtles and fish, are already dead when they wash up on shore, but a lot of the birds can be saved if someone gets to them in time and are able to wash off the oil from their bodies. If they are not cleaned of the oil, they will also die.

During the earlier Alaskan oil spill, environmentalists and animal lovers discovered that dishwashing liquid worked very well in cleaning the oil off the birds. One brand worked especially well, and has now been used for this purpose for years -- Dawn, made by Proctor & Gamble. For years now, the Cincinnati-based company has been engaged in a partnership with the International Bird Rescue Center and the Marine Mammal Center. They raise money for the organizations and provide them with their excellent product (Dawn).

Proctor & Gamble realized early that there was going to be wildlife problems with the current oil disaster in the Gulf, so they acted. They have already sent 1,000 bottles of Dawn to the affected areas (free of charge), and are preparing another 1,000 bottles for shipment. I expect they will provide even more if it is necessary.

Now I know this is not costing the company a huge amount when you consider their bottom line, and they are probably doing it for the good publicity. That's not important. The important thing is that they are doing it, and it is the right thing to do. If more corporations would do the right thing, we'd live in a much better country.

I don't know about you, but the next bottle of dishwashing liquid I buy will be Dawn.