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The activist co-founders of Ben & Jerry’s admitted in an interview with “Axios on HBO” that they don’t know how to hold states like Georgia and Texas to account when they pass laws they are not in touch with. ‘OK.
Why is this important: Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield have made progressive politics synonymous with their brand. The 70-year-old entrepreneurs, who no longer control the business but have retained their right to be its social conscience, have shown that they will use the muscle of business to pursue their ideals.
Alexi McCammond of Axios asked, in an interview in the brand’s home state of Vermont: “You are big supporters of the franchise. Why do you still sell ice cream in Georgia? Texas – abortion bans. Why are you still selling there? “
- “I don’t know,” Ben Cohen said with a laugh. “It’s an interesting question. I don’t know what that would accomplish. We are working on these issues, voting rights. … I think you are asking a very good question. And I think I should sit down and think a bit.
- When insisted on Texas’ limits on women’s access to abortion, Cohen said, “By this reasoning, we shouldn’t be selling ice cream anywhere. I have problems with what is done in almost all states and countries. “
- “One thing is different is that what Israel does is considered illegal under international law. And so I think it is a consideration,” Greenfield said.
One of the last movements of the company – its decision in 2021 to stop selling ice cream in the Palestinian territories occupied by Israel – provoked serious reactions.
- Cohen and Greenfield wrote a joint NYT editorial defending the company’s decision. “Although we no longer have any operational control over the company we founded in 1978, we are proud of its actions and believe it is on the right side of history,” they wrote.
- Thirty-five states in the United States have anti-Israel boycott laws, and so far four have announced they are taking action or considering splitting from Unilever, the parent company of Ben & Jerry.
- Greenfield told “Axios on HBO” that the decisions of these states are based on “disinformation” that “Ben & Jerry’s and Unilever are characterized as boycotting Israel – which is not the case at all. It is by no means a question of boycotting Israel, ”he said.
The bottom line: Cohen said they had found “ways to do things that increase justice – and also increase sales of ice cream.”
- “Ben & Jerry’s publicly supported Occupy Wall Street, Black Lives Matter. But over the years, the business continues to sell more ice cream and thrive, ”said Greenfield.
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