Burt's Bees has had a rather good reputation until one day a woman bought the Vanilla and Rice Milk lotion. The controversial description on the product reads, "Soak in the moisturizing seductiveness of shea butter and indulge in the scent of vanilla and rice milk. And let the catcalling commence."
The woman immediately felt offended by the label and tweeted the following message to an anti-street harassment group:
"On my @gudhappens is @burtsbees body butter. Catcalling is a violence against women." The 29-year-old woman, Colleen Kiphart, who happens to be a communications expert was not very sure at first if she was just overreacting or if indeed she was right. She saw her tweet rather as a perspective call. As expected she received a big feedback from the community. A petition was created and it got nearly 1700 signatures.
The company released the following appology on its Facebook page: "We would like to address a topic that has recently caused concern for many of you. First, we apologize if the wording on our Vanilla Flame Body Butter packaging offended anyone. güd, from Burt’s Bees, in no way encourages gender-based harassment and the objectification of women. güd is a brand built on positivity. Our products are designed to make women feel good on the inside and out. We want women everywhere to be able to enjoy amazing smelling natural personal care products that will leave them smiling, not attracting undesirable and disrespectful attention. This product will only be on shelves while supplies last.”
