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WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO

Our Reason for Being:

To serve our customers' health needs with imaginative science from plants and minerals;
To inspire all those we serve with a mission of responsibility and goodness;
To empower others by sharing our knowledge, time, talents, and profits; and
To help create a better world by exchanging our faith, experience, and hope.

In 1988, after 18 years in business, the Tom's of Maine community realized that we needed to formalize our values and beliefs into foundational documents to help guide the future growth and management of our company. Led by Tom and Kate Chappell, our cofounders, the community met and grappled with such thorny philosophical concepts as ethics, science, legality, emotion, and morality and how it all applied to running a sustainable business eventually emerging with our Reason for Being.

100% transparency

Picking strawberriesAre you concerned about ingredients? We are too—that’s why we take so much care over what we use in our products. Since 1981, we’ve proudly listed every ingredient, its purpose, and its source on our packages, so you know what you’re buying.

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Taking dental care overseas

Employee Kerry MaguireKerry Maguire talks about using her volunteer benefit to provide free dental care for residents of Zambia.

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Giving 5% of our time

Patti Murphy at animal shelter"We're encouraged to use 5% of our paid time volunteering. It's a great example of how we really do try to put our ideals into action here at Tom's." Patti Murphy, Consumer Dialogue Team Leader

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