Solon Economou

NOT Chinese Colgate!

I am relieved.  I am NOT brushing my teeth with toothpaste from China!  And Colgate-Palmolive, unlike some other companies, responds to my complaint.

What you see is my toothbrush in my tube of Colgate Total toothpaste, which split right down the seam as soon as I started to use it.  I thought of just running it back to Stop & Shop for a replacement, but I suddenly thought, " Where did they make this?  Is this more toxic Chinese garbage?" 

We've got salmonella from unknown sources running loose in our produce, lead-saturated products from China, kumquats from who knows where.  And a while ago, if you recall, we had an incident of phony Colgate toothpaste from China.

I've been using Colgate for decades,  so I wondered if this first-ever seam split was due to some shoddy back-alley production facility in China or Kazakhstan.  I examined the tube for the "Made in USA" mark.  Not there.  Hmmm.  The label said it was "Distributed in the USA by Colgate-Palmolive."  I already knew that; but where was it made?

I examined most of the other items in my bathroom to see if country of origin was listed.  This is what I found:

• Tom's Deodorant--Made in Maine.  That's why I buy it.  It's a natural product.
• Dickinson's Witch Hazel--Made in Connecticut.  That's why I buy it.  It's a natural product.  I've been to their wood chip distillation facility near Essex.
• Lubriderm Lotion--Made in Canada.  OK by me.
• Ayr Saline Nasal Mist--Made in USA.
• Fast Orange Hand Cleaner--Made in Connecticut.
• Softsoap (also a Colgate-Palmolive product)--Made in USA.
• Tilex Mildew Remover--Made in USA.

Everything had a country of origin on it except the toothpaste, which I use three or four times a day and some of which I unavoidably ingest.

So I shot off an e-mail to Colgate-Palmolive to give them a chance to respond.  I asked them where Total was made and specifically if it was made in China.  I received a response in three days (as opposed to no response at all from corporate Best Buy on another matter which I shall cover soon).

Colgate's partial response: "Colgate does not import toothpaste from China into the United States.  All toothpaste intended for sale in the United States is made in North America."  I read that as USA or Canada, both OK by me.

I'm glad Colgate-Palmolive is minding the store and that my loyalty to their product is justified.  But in this day of global musical chairs, all products, food or otherwise, sold in the USA should clearly have country of origin marked on them.  That overextended, overworked, underfunded FDA and the FTC have got to stop whining and read the world the riot act.

Coming soon:

• How the IRS is robbing retirees.  (You already knew that, you just don't know how much.)
• How your credit card company is robbing you.  (You already knew that, you just don't know how much.)
• How the "big box" stores are squeezing you.  (Maybe you didn't know that.)

Stay tuned...