Ahh, Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream flavours: "Mission to Marzipan", "Cherry Garcia", and the ever-popular "Chunky Monkey." Clever and delicious for sure. But is that the only reason we love them? Nah, we love the politics too: "Yes, Pecan," named in support of Barack Obama; "Chubby Hubby" temporarily renamed "Hubby Hubby" in support of same-sex marriage;. and now, "Stephen Colbert's Americone Dream."
Where do Republicans buy their ice cream?
Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield started their company with a mandate for social activism. They created a 3-part Mission Statement: the Product Mission related to the quality of the ice-cream; the Economic Mission related to profit; and the Social Mission related to the importance of improving the quality of life all over the world. And one of the reasons the company became so popular is that they really followed through on their promise.
In 1985 the two established the Ben & Jerry Foundation to fund community-oriented projects. In '88, they helped establish a non-profit peace initiative now known as Business for Social Responsibility. In '89 they came out against Bovine Growth Hormone. In '91, they started the "One World, One Heart" festival, highlighting music, arts, crafts and social action. And so it went on through the years, social, political and environmental activism as an integral part of a hugely profitable company.
But in 2001, things changed. Ben & Jerry's was acquired by multinational food giant Unilever. Activism projects continued to happen, but something was missing. Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield had done more than just follow the social mission to satisfy shareholders—they had been real leaders in the movement. The company was less courageous post-acquisition, and Ben and Jerry themselves kept away, disillusioned that Unilever hadn't pursued the mission of social responsibility vigorously enough. All the activists who had supported the company for so long were upset too. Had the dream come to an end?
Then, in 2006, Walt Freese became chief executive of the company. He met with Ben and Jerry and proposed some new ideas for social activism. He convinced them that his dedication was real, and Ben and Jerry again started to collaborate with the company they had founded.
Since then, Ben & Jerry's has been on an environmental, social and politic roll. They get their milk and cream only from farmers who don't treat their cows with growth hormones. They've developed more environmentally-friendly freezers. They send their waste to a Methane Bio-digester. They make sure they pay their employers a liveable wage. The Ben & Jerry's Foundation continues to fund community projects. And of course there have been all the controversial ice cream flavours mentioned in the first paragraph (that "Hubby Hubby" one really made a stink).
So, all you left-wing, ex-hippie, tree-hugging ice cream lovers, raise a cone to Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield. They gave us some of the best ice cream around. And they gave the world a company we can all feel good about supporting—again, and again, and again.